By Lamia Lanoud and David Rudge

Palestinian officials quietly concede that the PA is slowly losing control and that a situation of anarchy may develop if the circle of violence is not broken soon. Israel's policy of targeted killings is creating confusion and anger and helps create a situation of anarchy and lawlessness, the officials said.

Similarly, a top Israeli expert on the PA said it is facing a moment of truth.

Palestinians feel that the PA is not protecting them from Israeli attacks, and are looking to the militant groups for revenge, a PA security officer said.

At the same time, anger at the PA for alleged corruption is growing due to the increasing economic hardship created by the closure, PA sources said. The Palestinian population is also frustrated by the PA's inability to control gunmen who are using the intifada to settle personal accounts, a Palestinian security source from the West Bank said. The killing of collaborators by gunmen bypassing the PA is another sign of the growing lawlessness, he added. "Soon, no one will feel safe," he said.

Palestinian sources said the PA has shown a lack of leadership since the outbreak of the intifada which has encouraged Palestinian militants and political factions to dictate their own agendas.

Palestinians were shocked by two disputes between rival groups in which several innocent people were killed without the interference of the PA. In Nablus, members of rival Fatah cells killed two boys by accident in a shootout and in Gaza, a so called family dispute involving members of the PA's security services left nine people dead.

Palestinian Minister for Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Sha'ath admitted that there was growing lawlessness with regard to intifada activists, but said that the same was true in Israel with regard to the settlers. He said that once the diplomatic process is renewed, the PA will be able to take full control again, because it will be able to convince the people that establishing calm and law and order is in everybody's interest.

One senior PA official told Reuters: "[PA Chairman Yasserl Arafat can still reassert control if he decides to make changes, to end corruption by some members of the Authority and stop the destructive competition between the various security forces."

Prof. Gabriel Ben-Dor, director of the University of Haifa's National Security Studies Center, believes the PA is facing its moment of truth and tough decisions will soon have to be made.

Two conflicting and contradictory trends appear to be sweeping the populace in the PA-controlled areas, he said.

"On the one hand, the Palestinians generally are becoming more radical and, overall, there is an upsurge in anti-Israel sentiment," he told The Jerusalem Post. "There is more support for Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and some radical leftist and nationalist organizations, as well as for Hizbullah.

"There are Moslems, nationalists, and some among the general public, for instance, who wish to continue the fight against Israel indefinitely and believe the Hizbullah model of fighting is the right one for the Palestinians.

"On the other hand, there is a genuine concern on the part of some of the people and especially those around Yasser Arafat that if this trend and the violence continue, the structure of the PA will disintegrate.

"These people would not like to see the institutions of central government collapse completely and possibly slide into anarchy, nor would they wish to be ruled by radical organizations which would be the other alternative if the PA were to fold."

According to Ben-Dor, there are already signs that the PA is beginning to lose its control over the populace and various organizations.

Some services that had previously been provided by the PA have simply ceased functioning and others are grinding to a halt. There are water shortages and power cuts in various places, while the rule of law has already been replaced by anarchy, with small groups dishing out their own forms of so-called justice.

"The courts are not sitting, so there is no judiciary system and no law enforcement by the police, even though education and health services are still more or less intact," said Ben-Dor.

"Security and communications, however, are being shared between the PA and other organizations. It also appears that the PA's monopoly of control over the armed forces is coming to an end."

Ben-Dor said there are parallels in history of nationalist revolutionary movements going through similar metamorphoses in the process of establishing institutions of state.

To achieve the latter, however, the PA would have to make some tough decisions, starting with the question of whether or not to continue the armed struggle.

"It should be noted that the Palestinians as a people have paid a very high price, economically and in terms of human life and the quality of life since the beginning of this intifada," he said. "The vast majority blame Israel for this, although some are beginning to question the strategy of violence to achieve political gains in light of the lack of results.

"Voices are being heard saying that this policy has not paid off, although it is difficult to gauge the numbers because of the repressive tactics imposed by the radicals to drown out such voices.

"Nevertheless, I believe that if the PA leadership were to change its tune, it could draw on the support of this sector of the public, knowing full well that the radicals will have to be brought under control sooner or later."

According to Ben-Dor, the PA, is facing its moment of truth when it will have to decide whether to continue the violence and, in doing so, risk its own demise or change its tack.

"The alternative is for the PA to return to the negotiating table and, reach an agreement, which may not be perfect from its point of view and try to sell this to the public, while consolidating its hold over the instruments of power.

"This is the PA's dilemma which is becoming increasingly recognized by those around Arafat. The question now is whether Arafat and the ruling circles in the PA have the strength and will to lead the people and make what for them are painful decisions or would simply prefer to let things ride and, in doing so, risk the consequences " (Jerusalem Post, August 7th, 2001)