Special to WorldTribune.com

GAZA CITY — Qatar has hosted training of Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian sources said Qatar was training Palestinians in combat skills for paramilitary and other roles.

The sources said most of the Palestinians were linked to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

“The idea [by Qatar] was to build a professional force that would be loyal to and protect Doha’s interests in the Gaza Strip and other parts of the Middle East,” a source said.

The sources said scores of Palestinians were used to protect Qatari VIPs, including officials and diplomats. They said some of the Palestinians returned to Hamas security forces and assigned to the Qatari presence in the Gaza Strip.

In February 2014, Hamas approved the first VIP protection company trained by Qatar. The sources said some of the 40 staffers of Secure Land served in the Qatari army and assigned to protect visiting Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf.

A leading officer in Secure Land, Hassan Shourbaji, was a veteran of the Qatari army. Shourbaji said his men underwent two months of training in the weapons skills and the martial arts.

The sources said Doha invested in the training of Palestinians to
prepare for an expanded Qatari presence in the Gaza Strip. The Gulf
Cooperation Council emirate has pledged $400 million to the Gaza Strip, much
of which never arrived.

  Arab Idol, Mohammed Assaf, Qatar trains Palestinians in Gaza to provide security for it VIPs, Secure Land