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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israel-wants-isis-linked-militias-to-control-rafah-crossing-the-new-order-in-gaza/">palestinechronicle.com</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div><h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israel Wants ISIS-Linked Militias To Control Rafah Crossing \u2014 The New Order in Gaza</h1>February 13, 2026</div>
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<img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IsisMilitias_Israel_Rafah.png" alt="" title="IsisMilitias_Israel_Rafah" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="408" height="274" style="margin-right: 25px;">
After rejecting the deployment of
Palestinian Authority security forces, Israel has instead backed armed
proxy groups \u2014 some linked to extremist Salafist networks. (Photos:
Wikimedia, Video grab. Design: Palestine Chronicle)
<p><strong>By <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/robert-inlakesh" title="Display all articles for Robert Inlakesh">Robert Inlakesh</a></strong></p>
<blockquote>
<h3><span>As the Gaza ceasefire moves through its early stages, the
partial reopening of the Rafah Crossing has triggered a struggle over
who will control Gaza\u2019s border administration. After rejecting the
deployment of Palestinian Authority security forces, Israel has instead
backed armed proxy groups \u2014 some linked to extremist Salafist networks \u2014
assigning them security roles in the border area, where reports of
abuse have already begun to surface.</span></h3>
</blockquote>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>Israel rejected Palestinian Authority forces at Rafah and instead supported alternative armed militias.</li><li>Several Israeli-backed militias reportedly emerged from criminal networks and extremist factions inside Gaza.</li><li>Members of these groups have been deployed near the Rafah Crossing, where abuse allegations have been reported.</li><li>International actors monitoring the crossing are now considering escorts for civilians due to safety concerns.</li><li>The developments raise questions about the composition of future Gaza security structures under international plans.</li></ul>
<h4>Control of Rafah Crossing</h4>
<p>After rejecting the notion of allowing professionally trained
Palestinian Authority security forces to patrol the Rafah Crossing,
between Egypt and Gaza, Israel is now using its ISIS-linked death squads
to patrol the border area. As expected, rights abuses are already being
reported.</p>
<p>The notion that Israel was backing ISIS-linked militias was once
dubbed a fringe conspiracy theory. Today, Israel is not only overtly
backing ISIS and Al-Qaeda linked militants, but it directly created and
controls five such militant organizations.</p>
<p>Amid daily Israeli violations of the agreement, the Gaza ceasefire
slowly progresses between its first two loosely defined phases; one such
progression has been the partial opening of the Rafah Crossing. Under
this opening, the border zone \u2013 that is still occupied by the Israeli
military \u2013 has been the site of a limited passing of civilians in and
out of the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>There have therefore been discussions about who precisely will be
deployed on the Palestinian side of the crossing to perform checks on
those passing through the crossing. Initially, the Palestinian Authority
(PA) \u2013 based in Ramallah \u2013 attempted to propose that its well-trained
security forces handle this task and that they even deploy to Gaza in
order to lead through a transitional phase.</p>
<p>Tel Aviv has flatly rejected any role being played in Gaza by the
Palestinian Authority, fearing that this could strengthen the case for
Palestinian statehood. Instead, the Israelis have poured millions into
backing an alternative \u201csecurity force\u201d.</p>
<h4>Formation of Proxy Militias</h4>
<p>Israel\u2019s five proxy militias are composed of criminals who escaped
from Gaza\u2019s jails after Israel bombed the entrances in late 2023, in
addition to opportunist thugs and longtime members of hardline Salafist
movements that were long repressed by the Hamas-led authority.</p>
<p>Starting with the militia, led by the now deceased Yasser Abu Shabab,
calling itself the \u201cPopular Forces\u201d \u2013 despite being perhaps the most
unpopular Palestinian group to have ever existed \u2013 did not begin as the
anti-Hamas militant group they present themselves as today.</p>
<p>They were first empowered by the Israelis after they invaded and
occupied the Rafah Crossing area, working under Tel Aviv\u2019s order to
seize humanitarian aid trucks and hoard the goods they stole from the
people of Gaza. Then, Abu Shabab\u2019s men, at a time when the people of
Gaza were being starved, drip-fed these donated goods onto the black
market to be sold at exorbitant prices.</p>
<p>Only toward the end of 2024 did the Israelis begin giving Abu
Shabab\u2019s aid looters a facelift and using their contact with Western
mainstream media to whitewash the crimes of these groups, selling them
instead as an organic force fighting against Hamas. Corporate media
outlets collaborated with the Israelis in presenting these gangsters as
representing the opinions of the silent majority of Gazans.</p>
<p>In reality, these groups were infamous among Palestinians who saw
them for what they truly were. These militias were collaborating with
the Israeli military and intelligence to steal aid, helping to create
societal strains amidst a coordinated and deliberate campaign of mass
starvation.</p>
<p>These militants are not only extremist terrorists, whom Hamas had
long cracked down upon, some belonging to groups that had carried out
suicide bombings and other deadly attacks on Palestinians civilians,
they are also convicted drug traffickers, murderers, and some stand
accused of sexual violence.</p>
<p>In other words, Israel sought out the most despicable and criminal
elements of Gaza\u2019s population, pouring millions of dollars and weapons
into terrorist militias. Many of them subscribe to a hardline Salafist
doctrine, which justifies their criminal actions by allowing them to
make Takfir (to declare they are non-Muslim) against the majority of
Gaza\u2019s population and even accuse them of Shirk (idol worship).</p>
<p>For example, leading figures within the Israeli-backed militias have
attacked Hamas for siding with Iran, as the Salafists deem the Islamic
Republic to be non-Muslim due to its Shia faith.</p>
<h4>Deployment and Reported Abuses</h4>
<p>Last Monday, the head of the ISIS-linked \u201cPopular Forces\u201d Ghassan
Duhine announced through the Hebrew media that his Israeli-backed forces
would be playing \u201can important security role regarding entry and exit
through the Rafah crossing\u201d.</p>
<p>Days later, reports that these death squads had been deployed at
Israeli-controlled checkpoints emerged, alongside accounts of abuse. One
woman, whose identity was concealed, informed the BBC that the
collaborator militants told her that they could help her travel to
Europe if she collaborated with them.</p>
<p>The woman\u2019s hands were then bound, as the ISIS-linked militants
insulted and physically assaulted her. In addition to this, she
testified to having been tripsearched alongside three other women.</p>
<p>As a result of such reports, the European Union, which has its own
monitors who are active at the Rafah Crossing, later stated it would
consider sending its own people to escort Palestinians to the Israeli
checkpoint in order to avoid such cases in the future.</p>
<p>Other reports emerged, some of which were also covered by the BBC,
which suggested that the personal items of Palestinian travelers were
confiscated by the EU\u2019s officials. A woman named Rabia remarked that
\u201cThey took perfumes, accessories, make-up, cigarettes, headphones \u2013
everything, they didn\u2019t leave anything with us\u201d.</p>
<h4><strong>International Oversight</strong></h4>
<p>All of this is being carried out under the watchful eye of the
International Community, as are the daily Israeli ceasefire violations
that have led to the mass murder of nearly 600 Palestinians in Gaza
since October 10, 2025, when the ceasefire began. The Civil Military
Coordination Center (CMCC), led by the US and Israeli militaries, is
made up of over 20 different countries, which watch on as Israel
demolishes civilian homes, funnels millions into ISIS-linked militias,
and murders civilians.</p>
<p>There are also now questions about the future planned \u201cPalestinian
security forces\u201d that are vaguely mentioned in the US\u2019s plans for Gaza,
with some speculating that the five Israeli-backed groups will make up a
significant portion of that planned force.</p>
<p>In other words, the international community is permitting ISIS-linked
militants with a diverse array of criminal convictions \u2013 who have a
history of committing torture, executions, armed robbery, and raids on
hospitals, all under Israel\u2019s guidance \u2013 to play \u201csecurity roles\u201d in
Gaza, all so that Palestinians are robbed of any sign of future
statehood.</p>
<p><em>(The Palestine Chronicle)</em></p>
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<p><br></p>
<p><span><em>\u2013 Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary
filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He
contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. </em></span></p></div>
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