The situation in the Palestinian areas of the Gaza strip
seemed to be heading for chaos, as various terror groups
battled each other. The Palestinian Authority is facing
complete anarchy.
The chaos was set off last weekend when several dozen armed
men, members of Arafat's own Fatah faction, rebelled against
their leader by ambushing the motorcade of the PA police
chief in Gaza, long-time Arafat ally Ghazi Jabali, and
kidnapping him. The rebels refused to release Jabali until
Arafat agreed to fire him for corruption. Arafat eventually
agreed, and Jabali was freed.
Kidnappings continued throughout the weekend, as well as a
series of other incidents. Another PA. official was
kidnapped, along with five French volunteers. All were
eventually freed with Arafat's intervention.
Two senior officials, Rashid abu Shbak, head of the PA.
preventive security force, and Amin al-Hindi, head of the
PA's general intelligence service, resigned over the weekend,
protesting "the absence of reforms and the continuation of a
state of anarchy in the Gaza Strip."
Arafat fired reformer Abdel Razek Al-Majaideh from his post
as director of general security for the West Bank and Gaza
Strip because Majaideh had called for political reform.
Arafat then tried to replace him with Mousa Arafat, a nephew
of his who commands the much-reviled Palestinian military
intelligence service and is widely accused of corruption.
The appointment only fueled reformists' anger. Riots ensued.
Masked terrorists from Arafat's Fatah faction clashed with
Mousa Arafat loyalists in Gaza. Some 3,000 demonstrators took
to the streets on Saturday night to demand that Mousa Arafat
be fired.
Early Sunday, members of the Al-Aksa Brigades, the terrorist
wing of Fatah, took over Mousa Arafat's headquarters in the
city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, released prisoners held
inside and set the post on fire.
On Monday, Arafat rehired Majaideh and put him above his
nephew.
In the meantime, PA. Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei handed in his
resignation, but Arafat refused to accept it. Qurei
reportedly said he would withdraw his resignation only if
Arafat gave him some real power. The Cabinet of the PA also
does not want Qurei to resign. Mr. Qurei led a cabinet
session on Monday, and he said afterward that most ministers
opposed his decision to quit.
The demonstrations, violence and political chaos reflected
deep frustration among Palestinians and some PA. officials
over widespread corruption in the Palestinian Authority, mass
unemployment, a state of lawlessness in Palestinian cities
and little prospect that anything will change.
Arafat's reputation abroad is also declining. Last week Terje
Roed-Larsen, the FUN. special coordinator for the Middle East
peace process and a long-time Arafat backer, attacked him in
New York for doing nothing to stop Palestinian terrorism.
"The PA., despite consistent promises by its leadership, has
made no progress on its core obligation to take immediate
action on the ground to end violence and combat terror and to
reform and reorganize the Palestinian Authority," Roed-Larsen
said in a speech at the United Nations. "All those who yearn
for peace have already and repeatedly argued that President
Arafat, in public and in private, take immediate action to
restore this diminished credibility."
Though Roed-Larsen was also harshly critical of Israel's
failure to uproot illegal settlement outposts, he was
declared "persona non grata" in the Palestinian territories
as a result of his speech.
Some say that Palestinians are willing to accept Arafat as a
national symbol but will not accept him as the national
tyrant.
The man behind the unrest in Gaza seems to be Mohammed
Dahlan. More than two years ago, Dahlan resigned his post as
PA. minister of internal security and since then he has
maintained a stance of passive opposition to Arafat.
Dahlan, 43, is considered Arafat's strongest rival in the
Palestinian Authority, and the unrest in Gaza is part of
jockeying within the Palestinian Authority for control of
Gaza once the Israelis leave.
Dahlan himself has strong opposition. Because the Israelis
and Americans appear to favor him, many Palestinians suspect
him. At a recent speech in Gaza, Dahlan said Palestinians
either could build a model for administration in Gaza, or
embrace "chaos and destruction."
The unrest fortifies the Israeli argument that there is no
real partner on the Palestinian side for them to negotiate
with. Israel has avoided direct involvement in the internal
Palestinian fighting. But Israeli officials say they would
not be disappointed if Mr. Arafat was further weakened by the
instability.
Last week, Israel's Foreign Ministry publicly discussed
several scenarios that could follow Arafat's death. Not
surprisingly, the ministry predicted that Arafat's death
would be followed by a state of anarchy.
In Israel, a gunman killed a prominent Israeli judge, Adi
Azar, as he was driving home on Monday evening in a suburb of
Tel Aviv. In a highly unusual attack, the gunman shot the
judge at close range and fled on a motorcycle. On Tuesday the
authorities said that they suspected that the background to
the incident was personal but they were not yet certain. The
murder was committed in the style of criminal killings.
Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, which is linked to Mr. Arafat's
Fatah movement, claimed responsibility, but Israel's justice
minister dismissed the claim and said he was "quite sure"
that Palestinians were not involved. The attack was the first
time a judge had been killed in Israel's 56-year history.
In other violence on Monday, Israeli helicopters fired
missiles twice at a house in the Shati refugee camp in the
Gaza Strip, wounding a leader with the militant Popular
Resistance Committee, The Associated Press quoted the group's
spokesman as saying. The Israeli military refused to
comment.
In the northern West Bank, Israeli troops shot dead three
Palestinian militants in two separate confrontations, the
military said. An Israeli officer was shot and seriously
wounded.
Also, Jordan's security forces shot and killed two armed
Palestinians, wounded a third and arrested a fourth as the
men tried to sneak across the border and into Israel.
Also Israel and Hizbullah shot at each other on the Lebanese
border.
