Will Blood Feud With Gazan Tribe Spell The End of Hamas?

Hamas has a history of executing Palestinians who the terrorists claim are collaborating with Israel. Back in 2014, for example, the Times of Israel reported that Hamas killed over 30 suspected collaborators with Israel. And that was over just a few days. Of course, there is no way to tell whether Hamas actually executes collaborators, or is killing off opposition to its rule in Gaza.

According to Hamas, collaborating with Israel is not limited to spying for the Jewish state and relaying information that helps to target Hamas terrorists. 

Helping Gazans can also get you killed by Hamas:

A Hamas-linked website warned Palestinians who assist Israel in providing aid to Gaza that their actions will not be “tolerated”.

Those who did would be treated as collaborators and be handled with an iron fist, the Hamas Al-Majd security website said on Monday, quoting a security official in Palestinian militant forces.

Considering how Hamas has been taking Gazan aid for themselves and in some cases selling it to the people at inflated prices, it is understandable that the terrorists might be piqued.

Hamas is stealing aid and trying to sell it back to Gazans at exorbitant prices. https://t.co/AXQ363orF7

— Haviv Rettig Gur (@havivrettiggur) January 17, 2024

But this time, Hamas may have gone too far. On Thursday, JNS reported, Hamas executes Gaza clan ‘prince’ in message to potential ‘collaborators’:

Hamas has executed a “prince” of the Doghmush clan in Gaza City, sources in Gaza said on Thursday. The killing was a message to those considering cooperating with Israel, which is looking for ways to bypass the terror group in the enclave, according to the sources.

Israel has floated the idea of Gaza clans acting as partners in running the internal affairs of the Strip after Hamas has been eliminated.

If Hamas was trying to dissuade Gazans from participating in Israel's plan, it may have been unnecessary. The clans are reported to have rejected what they considered Israeli interfernce in internal matters. More to the point, if Hamas felt the need to kill tribal leaders in order to maintain control, that constitutes a major change in tactics indicating that Hamas is afraid of losing control.

On March 10, Khaled Abu Toameh reported that Hamas was competing with the PA to get the support of the clans:

The P.A. and Hamas understand that the backing of the clans is crucial for maintaining their control over the Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip. That’s why P.A. and Hamas leaders have always treated the large families and their leaders with utmost respect. In some instances, clan leaders were elevated to the unofficial position of supreme judges and arbitrators, replacing the official judiciary and law enforcement of both organizations.

This is all the more reason to see the Hamas execution of a clan leader as an admission of a potential threat to Hamas control in Gaza. The fact that Hamas killed the leader supports Toameh's report that some of the clans sided with the PA and were enforcing law and order in some of the towns and refugee camps, preventing looting and anarchy. And one clan was in fact reported to be escorting some of the trucks carrying humanitarian aid that entered through Egypt and Israel.

This is not the first time Hamas has sparked revenge over their killing of an Arab. This past November, a Bedouin family accused Hamas of torturing, humiliating and executing Osama Abu Asa during the October 7 massacre. They offered a reward of $1 million for help in identifying who killed him. An uncle made clear, "as with the bedouins, we have a blood feud with the terrorists. This account will be closed, no matter how long it takes.”

But this time, the backlash is against all of Hamas: Major Gaza clan says it considers all Hamas members legitimate targets after leader assassinated:

The Doghmosh Family — a major clan in Gaza — has issued a statement declaring that all Hamas members are legitimate targets after its leader was assassinated by members of the terror group along with ten other relatives allegedly for stealing humanitarian aid and being in contact with Israel.

The statement pledges retribution against all responsible and warns Hamas fighters not to test the clan’s patience.

How serious is this threat to Hamas?

On November 9, 2005, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the three suicide bombers who killed 60 people at hotels in Amman Jordan. He was rebuked by members of his own tribe.

“We, the sons of the Bani Hassan tribe in all its branches in the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, support and express solidarity with our cousins, the al-Khalayleh clan, and their decision to sever relations with the terrorist Ahmad Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,” said the letter published in four leading newspapers.

...In a similar letter on Nov. 20, almost 60 members of al-Zarqawi’s extended family disowned him and pledged fidelity to the crown.

This signaled the beginning of al-Zarqawi's downfall. He was killed in a US airstrike the following year.

We can only hope that the blood feud Hamas has brought upon itself, from Arabs who have outright threatened to kill Hamas members, will have similar results.