Can = yes
Should = No
I don't think you should ever skip the AWA. Maybe someone with experience on an admissions committee can respond and talk about comments made when an applicant's score did not have an essay score, or a score of 0 due to no essay. Maybe the school didn't care. I think that the school would care. One reason being that the adcom might perceive that you didn't follow direction, or that a 730 without the AWA is not the same as a 730 with the AWA because the without score did not have an extra hour of thinking and writing, so the 730 with the AWA is better.
ISBtarget
Hi
Can we skip the AWA section while retaking GMAT.