GAZA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Arab countries have urged Israel to allow entry of Palestinian troops from Jordan to stave off a possible civil war in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said on Sunday.

    The Sama news agency quoted the sources as saying that Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) had been holding contact with Israel to persuade it to admit Bader troops from Jordan.

    "Israel will reply in 48 hours," the sources said on condition of anonymity.

    Bader forces are a brigade controlled by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and loyal to moderate President Mahmoud Abbas.

    Israel has blocked several demands to allow the forces into the Gaza Strip. In recent months, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert outlined a number of conditions to approve right-of-way of the brigade, urging them to prevent rocket attacks by Palestinian militants into Israel.

    On Saturday, Abbas, who is engaged in a power struggle with the ruling Hamas movement, outlawed its Auxiliary Forces formed by Interior Minister Said Siam last April.

    But Hamas rejected Abbas' decision and decided to double the number of its forces to 12,000.