'A different nation'

[bemildred]

RAMALLAH - The telephone in the senior Fatah official's office in Ramallah began ringing incessantly shortly after 1 P.M. yesterday. His people in Gaza wanted advice on what to do. Hamas gunmen were surrounding their headquarters, the gunfights were growing fiercer. Should they surrender to Hamas, they asked, or continue fighting to the death?

The senior official replied cautiously. "You're in charge," he said. "Do what you think is best.

At one point, the Gazan commander wanted to talk to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and ask his permission to surrender, since they had run out of munitions. But Abbas was busy meeting with the PLO leadership in Ramallah.

A few minutes later, another phone call came from Gaza. This time, the official realized it was over. "If you give in, don't let them take the weapons. Put all rockets and guns in the basement. Burn all the floors and then the basement and cars. When you surrender, don't agree to undress," he ordered his Gazan subordinate.

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