Yasser Abu Shabab, head of the Popular Forces, an anti-Hamas militia operating in eastern Rafah, outlined his vision in a striking opinion piece published Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.
In the article, Abu Shabab claims that for the past seven weeks, his fighters have maintained control over several square kilometers of territory—fully cleared of Hamas presence and now home to what he calls the first Hamas-free Palestinian administration since 2007.
“We aren’t an ideological movement, but a pragmatic one,” Abu Shabab wrote. “Our primary goal is to separate Palestinians who have nothing to do with Hamas from the fire of war.”
Operating in an area currently under full Israeli military control, Abu Shabab’s Popular Forces have established armed patrols and claim to have restored basic services such as shelter, food, water and medical supplies—without fear of Hamas exploitation or Israeli airstrikes. He says families in eastern Rafah are now sleeping without the threat of bombardment or Hamas coercion.
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Armed members of the Popular Forces oversee the distribution of aid supplies in a storage facility in eastern Rafah, Gaza, an area currently under Israeli military control
In the piece, Abu Shabab calls on the U.S. and Arab nations to formally recognize his group as the foundation for a future independent Palestinian administration. He says his model could be replicated across the territory if provided with three elements: financial backing to keep Hamas from regaining ground, humanitarian aid to support basic needs and safe movement corridors.
Abu Shabab, who belongs to the Tarabin Bedouin tribe, accuses Hamas of killing his brother and cousin for attempting to secure aid, and says 52 civilians under his group’s protection were murdered. “I realized that silence is no longer an option. If we remain quiet now, we will never be free, cease-fire or not,” he wrote.
The commander also addressed widespread Palestinian fear of Hamas, claiming that the majority in Gaza opposes the group but lacks an alternative or the freedom to express dissent. “No one else has been willing to step up and risk publicly breaking with Hamas,” he wrote. “Those fears lost their meaning for me after my brother and cousin were murdered.”
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Children attend a class in eastern Rafah, Gaza, holding signs with pro-civil society messages in Arabic. The area, under Popular Forces control, is reportedly free of Hamas presence
He insists his group is already receiving requests from families to relocate to eastern Rafah and says that, with sufficient support, they could expand their civil control to encompass as many as 600,000 people—nearly one-third of Gaza’s population.
“Hamas has labeled me a criminal and collaborator, but I am not intimidated by them. I won’t surrender,” he wrote. “We have shown a glimpse of what a new Gaza could look like.”
His call for formal international backing comes as ceasefire talks remain stalled and much of Gaza continues to face severe humanitarian conditions, according to the enclave's Hamas-run Health Ministry and international organizations.