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Israel Wisely Arms Gaza Clans to Fight Hamas

(Wall Street Journal) Maj. (ret.) John Spencer - Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed last week that Israel is arming local clans inside Gaza to fight Hamas. This is a historically grounded strategy, and one of the most effective tools in asymmetric warfare. In 2008, I was on the ground in Baghdad when American forces shifted their strategy to arm local gang leaders and tribal groups, some of whom had previously attacked U.S. troops, to turn them against al-Qaeda in Iraq. We knew that defeating al-Qaeda meant splintering its power base, undermining its support, and making local authority figures an alternative source of control. That strategy crippled al-Qaeda's hold. During the war in Afghanistan, U.S. and allied forces armed local tribes and warlords to fight the Taliban. In World War II, the Allies provided weapons and support to resistance fighters and irregular militias across Europe, many with unsavory records, because defeating the Nazis took precedence. Wartime alliances are judged not by ideology but by whether they advance the mission. Arming rival clans fractures Hamas's monopoly on force, empowers Gazans to defend themselves, and denies Hamas safe haven in communities it once ruled through terror. Victory over Hamas won't come from airstrikes alone. It will take local ground knowledge, legitimacy within communities, and the ability to fill power vacuums before Hamas does. The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point.
2025-06-10 00:00:00
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