Palestinian turmoil over Gaza

The crisis in the Palestinian Authority began last Friday with the kidnapping of Gaza police chief Ghazi Jabali by members of the Al Aqsa Marty's Brigades, a militant offshoot of Arafat's Fatah. Since then, Jabali was replaced by Arafat's cousin, an appointment then rejected by armed groups in Gaza. The Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qureia, or Abu Alaa, tendered his resignation in protest, but Tuesday agreed to stay on for the time being - part of an increasingly Byzantine power play around Arafat's headquarters.

By some estimates, part of the tensions stem from whether the Palestinian Authority should recognize and be cooperative with the expected Israeli withdrawals, or whether to reject the moves for being unilateral and falling too far short of expectations for ending occupation.

"Some groups believe there should be Palestinian cooperation with the disengagement plan, even if there is no Palestinian partner, while other camp believes it is completely dangerous to do that because it's off the road map," Masri says. While Gaza-based Dahlan, Arafat's former security chief, would have much to gain in an Israeli withdrawal from the Mediterranean strip, Arafat has much to lose.

Around the corner from the hospital where Amr was rolled away on a gurney for transport to Amman, Palestinian Legislative Council members met amid a grim atmosphere. When asked how he was, Hassan Khreisheh, the head of the council's anticorruption committee, patted his chest. "Good. No bullets in me yet."

He would have liked to see protests against the violence. "Where is the silent majority? They should be lifting their voices against this incident," he says. "This is a conflict for power. But our battle is against the Israelis, not against ourselves."

Salah Tamari, a Palestinian Council Member from Bethlehem, says the shooting was an attempt to intimidate all critics of the authority. "It's obvious they want to silence anyone who would speak out," says Mr. Tamari. "But we are not going to be replaced by Dahlan instead of elections." Municipal elections in Palestinian cities are planned for this fall, but there is debate whether they should take place in such an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Another candid critic of Arafat, legislator Kadoura Fares, is concerned that Amr's shooting may not be the last of the attacks on high-profile political figures.

"It's his luck, getting shot. But many others are a candidate for that," Fares says. "It's clear it's an attempt to expand the chain of incidents to the West Bank. The corrupt ones are doing this to quiet everyone."

In that, said Amr, the attackers failed. In a statement provided from his hospital bed, he called for calm. "If the reason behind this attempt is to silence me, let everyone know I always believe in what I say. I wish for internal Palestinian harmony, in order to protect the Palestinian people and the Palestinian dream."

President Arafat has ordered an investigation into the shooting.

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