The tribes of the Gaza Strip constitute an incubator for the resistance against Israel (the General Administration for Tribal Affairs and Reform Facebook page)
The tribes, clans, and families in the Gaza Strip are family blocs led by mukhtars (tribal sheikhs) upon which the social system in the Strip is based, and are linked by close alliances with the armed resistance factions against the Israeli occupation.
Its roots go back to the tribal system prevailing in traditional Arab societies, and its presence was strengthened during the era of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who placed many tribal leaders at the head of the leadership of the security services, and encouraged their election to the Legislative Council. After Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, it reorganized the tribes and their powers. Mukhtars.
With the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began communicating with the mukhtars in preparation for what it calls the next day of the war, but the response came quickly with their refusal to assume the tasks requested of them by the occupation authorities.
Roots and social structure
Despite the decline in the presence of the tribe among a wide spectrum of the Palestinian people due to the consequences of the Israeli occupation and the displacement and forced displacement that followed, it is still strongly present in many areas, including the Gaza Strip. Among the most famous tribes in the Gaza Strip are:
The tribes of the Gaza Strip represent a cohesive social force (the General Administration for Tribal Affairs and Reform Facebook page)
Al-Tayaha:
It has extensions in Hebron, the Dead Sea, and other areas of Palestine, and includes 24 clans, each of which consists of a group of clans. Among the most prominent Al-Tayaha clans are: Hakouk Al-Huzail, Hakouk Al-Assad, Alamat Abu Juqaym, Alamat Abu Shinar, Al-Shalaliyun, Qudairat Al-Sana, and Qudairat Abi Kaf. And the darkness of Abu Rabi’ah, and the darkness of Abu Juway’ad, and the darkness of Abu Qarinat, and Banu Uqba, and the Natush, and the Rawashda, and the fatina, and the Qalazin, and the Janabib.
The Tarabin:
Their homes are located in the lands between Al-Hanajra and Sinai, and they consist of 20 clans, each of which includes a group of clans. Among the most prominent Tarabin clans are: Najmat Al-Sanea, Najmat Al-Sufi, Najmat Abi Susin, Ghawali Abu Sitta, Ghawali Abi Al-Husayn, Ghawali Abakra, and Ghawali Al-Amour, Wahidat Al-Tarabin, Hasanat Abu Mualiq, Jaraween Abu Yahya, and Jarwain Abu Saalik.
Al-Azazma:
Its dwellings are spread between the Sinai borders, the Beersheba district, and Wadi Al-Arabah, and it consists of 10 clans, the most prominent of which are: the Muhammadans, the Subhis, the Subaihat, the Zerba, and the Faraheen.
Al-Jabbarat:
They live in the northeast of Gaza, and are divided into 13 clans, including the Abu Jaber clan, Artimat Abu Al-Adous, Artimat Al-Faqara, Hasanat bin Sabah, Jabarat Al-Wahidi, Jabarat Al-Daqs, Saadna Al-Nuwairi, and Saadna Abi Jariban.
Al-Hanajra:
It is one of the most prominent natives of the southeastern part of the Gaza Strip. It is divided into 4 clans: Hanajra Abu Madin, Al-Dawaher, Al-Hamdat, and Al-Nuseirat. Under these clans are many clans, such as Badrin, Arbin, Naimat, Al-Awamra, Al-Awaishah, Al-Manadil, Al-Sasila, Karshan, and Qaraan.
Common lineage and clan affiliation enhance social cohesion (General Administration of Tribal Affairs and Reform Facebook page)
Some important families in the Gaza Strip are also famous, such as:
Dughmush family:
It is one of the largest families in the Gaza Strip. Its head, Hajj Saleh Ashour Daghmush, and a group of notables were martyred in an Israeli bombing that targeted the family’s mosque during sunset prayers on November 16, 2023.
The Helles family:
It is considered the third largest family in Gaza. Many of its sons held senior positions in the leadership of the Fatah movement and the Palestinian security services, including the movement’s secretary in the Gaza Strip, Ahmed Helles, and the director of the Private Security Service, Atef Helles.
The Al-Masry family:
Its origins go back to the Republic of Egypt, as its ancestors immigrated in the 18th century, and it is described as among the largest families in Gaza, along with Dughmush and Helles.
The Astal family:
Its origins go back to the Iraqi Kurds of the Saladin al-Ayyubi sect, and it owned about a quarter of the lands of Khan Yunis. On October 20, 2023, the Astal family was subjected to an Israeli massacre, as a result of which more than 100 members were lost as a result of the bombing of residential squares belonging to the family’s members.
Tribal and clan leaders usually undertake reconciliation and resolve conflicts (General Administration for Tribal Affairs and Reform Facebook page)
Social and economic power
Thanks to the cohesion guaranteed by common lineage, the tribe represents a social force in the structure of Gaza Strip society, and grants its members protection through which it enters into conflict with other groups.
In addition to the traditional roles of tribes and clans, mukhtars (tribal leaders) undertake other tasks, such as customary justice, conflict resolution, reconciliation, sealing some documents, and recommending people to government agencies. This work reflects the tribe’s influence and presence in public affairs.
At the level of economic activities, many clans practiced agriculture, while others practiced trade, others practiced animal development, and so on. The Al-Masry and Abu Al-Naga clans were famous for agriculture, the Bakr clan for fishing, and the Dughmush clan for trade through tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
The percentage of families’ control over economic activity in Gaza is estimated at about 95%, and through these activities, many clans have become an economic force in the Strip. In addition, the tribe and clan represent an incubator for their poor families and individuals, and solidarity funds are allocated for this purpose.
A number of Gaza Strip tribal notables (General Administration for Tribal Affairs and Reform Facebook page)
Relationship with authority
Following the Oslo Accords in 1993, Arafat sought an alliance with the tribal mukhtars in the Gaza Strip, which led to an expansion of their influence and favor with the authorities.
Arafat was forced to this alliance in light of the rejection that the agreement faced from the national forces, especially the youth forces, to the point that he held sessions similar to establishing the pledge of allegiance in his office in Gaza with the mukhtars of the tribes and families.
This status grew with the establishment of the Office of Tribal Affairs in 1995, and the recommendation of the mukhtars became a condition for obtaining identity cards, which strengthened the influence of the tribe and made belonging to it a need for individuals.
During the era of Arafat, the mukhtars also held senior positions in the Liberation Organization, the Legislative Council in 1996, and municipal councils, as well as senior positions in the national security and intelligence services and various government departments.
During the last years of his rule, incidents of security chaos in the Gaza Strip were repeated, which was attributed, among other reasons, to incidents related to revenge, retaliation, and settling scores between clans. These phenomena then increased with Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza settlements in what was known as the unilateral disengagement plan in 2005.
Coinciding with this chaos and in light of the conflict of the security services, their members received orders to take weapons into homes, and because most of them were recruited on tribal lines, weapons were transferred to the tribes, and they now had forces guarding neighborhoods and setting checkpoints.
Tribal figures and notables from the Gaza Strip (General Administration for Tribal Affairs and Reform Facebook page)
After the election of Hamas
With the success of the Islamic Resistance Movement in the 2006 elections and then its control of the Gaza Strip in what was known as the “military decision” following a conflict with the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), the relationship between the Gaza tribes and the Authority took a different path.
Hamas announced a new policy to control security by disarming the clans, preventing illegal checkpoints, and eliminating the phenomenon of security squares belonging to families. A few weeks after the start of the operation, it was able to control most of the neighborhoods of the Strip, with the exception of neighborhoods belonging to the Dughmush and Helles clans, before it entered into conflict with them. Short battles to complete control.
In a second phase, the Hamas movement reorganized the clans through family elections held periodically. It also confirmed the traditional powers of the clan and family mukhtars and established points of contact between them with the security and judicial services.
Hamas's ability to control Gaza is attributed to its success in managing the relationship with the traditional components of society - namely families, clans, and tribes - by establishing close links with them.
Palestinians mourn the bodies of martyrs in the Gaza Strip on March 29, 2024 (Anadolu Agency)
Netanyahu and the dream of managing Gaza
In late February 2024, Netanyahu presented to the cabinet his plan for post-war Gaza administration, which stipulates that local officials will take over the task.
The plan - which is called the plan for the day after the end of the war - includes preventing the Fatah movement from managing the Gaza Strip, as well as removing Hamas and other resistance factions.
But the tribes' response was decisive by rejecting the offer made by the Israeli government's coordinator of affairs in the Gaza Strip at a later time, as they refuse to be an alternative to the government, but rather support it.
Israeli analysts believe that implementing the proposal would in itself constitute a threat to Israel's security, especially after the failure of previous experiments in Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1970s and 1980s.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites