The Palestinian embassy in Yemen said on Saturday it was closing its mission in Sanaa in protest at what it called "dual Palestinian representation," an apparent reference to an office of Hamas. "We are closing the embassy in protest at the dual Palestinian representation in Yemen," embassy spokesman Fayez Jawad told AFP, without elaborating. The move appeared to be aimed at putting pressure on the Yemeni authorities to reduce the freedom enjoyed by a representative office of the Islamist movement Hamas.
Palestinians have been deeply divided since Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after a week of bloody street clashes in which it drove out Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
Jawad said that the move was also to protest against the "arrest of 10 Palestinians in the southern port city of Aden, and an attempt by some influential Yemenis to confiscate the premises of the Palestinian consulate in the city."
A source in Aden's chamber of commerce said that a court verdict had been issued stating that the premises had been sold to a Yemeni man some 10 years ago by the Palestinian mission.