GAZA CITY — Palestinian sources said 78 Egyptian security advisers left the Gaza
Strip on Feb. 3 via the Rafah border terminal.
The Egyptian trainers left suddenly in wake of the
Hamas victory of the Palestinian Legislative Council elections on Jan. 25.
The sources said the Hamas victory has sparked a crisis within PA security
leadership.
"The security forces are no longer functioning," a PA official said. "The exception has been the traffic police."
The sources said Egypt has no plans
to replace the advisers.
"There are no immediate plans for training by any Egyptian or foreign
country," a Palestinian source said.
The Egyptian trainers had been responsible for training in
counter-insurgency missions. They spent nearly a year in the Gaza Strip
helping mentor elite forces and commanders.
The European Union has also failed to implement its pledge to send
security instructors to the Gaza Strip. Instead, the EU, with offices in the
Ramallah suburb of El Bireh, has limited its presence to monitors at the
Rafah terminal while coordinators occasionally visit the Gaza Strip from the
West Bank.
