Israeli opposition leader and former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arming a gang in southern Gaza that’s affiliated with ISIS, a charge that has been confirmed by Israeli officials.

“The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with the Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister,” Liberman said. “To my knowledge, this did not go through approval by the cabinet.”

Liberman compared the arming of the criminal gang to Netanyahu’s previous strategy of propping up Hamas as a counter to the Palestinian Authority. “No one can guarantee that these weapons will not be directed at Israel. We have no way of monitoring or tracking them,” he said.

An initial statement released by Netanyahu’s office didn’t deny the allegation. “Israel is acting to defeat Hamas in various and diverse ways, upon the recommendation of all heads of the security establishment,” the office said.

Later, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel has been arming “clans” in southern Gaza. “On the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. This is only good and saves the lives of IDF soldiers. The publication of this only benefits Hamas – but Lieberman doesn’t care,” he said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Israeli military sources told The Times of Israel that Israel has been arming a group described as a “criminal gang of jihadists” led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a member of one of the largest clans in southern Gaza. Israel has been providing Abu Shabab’s gang with Kalashnikov rifles, including some that were seized from Hamas.

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