GAZA CITY — Arab allies of the Palestinian Authority have sought
refuge from the emerging civil war in the Gaza Strip.
Egyptian and Jordanian diplomats have avoided traveling in much of the
Gaza Strip to avoid being a target in battles between Fatah and Hamas. As
part of their war, both militias, supported by rival PA security agencies,
have established roadblocks and ambushed each other's patrols.
"Most of the diplomats and military advisers of Egypt and Jordan have
left the Gaza Strip or remain indoors," a diplomatic source said. "They have
been under orders from their governments to do everything they can to avoid
becoming a target."
On Monday, the assistant of Jordan's envoy in the Gaza Strip was killed
in
a gun battle between Hamas fighters and PA police officers aligned with
Fatah. The shootout took place near the Palestinian Legislative Council in
Gaza City, Middle East Newsline reported.
Eleven people were injured in the battle, the latest in the escalating
violence between Fatah and Hamas. Jordan's ambassador Yehiya Qarallah was
not in the car during the shootout, in which Hamas fighters launched a
rocket-propelled grenade toward police.
Later, the Jordanian envoy went to a local hospital to help identify the
body of his assistant, identified as 55-year-old Khaled Radaida, 55.
Diplomatic sources said Radaida, who carried a diplomatic passport, was on
his way to pick up Qarallah to an unidentified destination.
PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar called Qarallah and expressed his
condolences, officials said. Zahar said the PA would investigate the
killing. On Tuesday, Radaida's body was flown from Israel to Jordan for
burial.
This was the first foreign casualty since Fatah and Hamas launched their
war in mid-May. There is virtually no Western permanent diplomatic presence
left in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt and Jordan have been assigned the task of helping train and equip
the PA security forces. But the Hamas takeover of the PA and the subsequent
Western boycott have hampered the effort.
Instead, Jordan has been training forces loyal to PA Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas, who also leads Fatah, in the Hashemite kingdom. Jordanian advisers
have also been monitoring training of Abbas loyalists in the West Bank.
Diplomats said Egypt has withdrawn most of its military delegation from
the Gaza Strip. In February, a senior Egyptian military adviser was abducted
by Fatah gunmen.
[On Tuesday, Israel's military Southern Command launched an exercise
that envisioned an invasion of the Gaza Strip. Military sources said the
exercise tested the interoperability of communications as well as the
command and control of army, navy and air force units that would participate
in any invasion.]
For his part, Abbas has raised the prospect that he could disband the
Hamas-led government. He said he would continue to give Hamas a chance to
govern.
"It is one of my rights as president to take this step," Abbas told the
Al Quds daily on Monday. "But such a decision would not be justified unless
Hamas gets a full opportunity [to rule]. If it fails, then we can talk about
disbanding the government."