Arafat may be losing hold on Palestinian territory

JERUSALEM — They're calling it the "intra-fadeh" — an uprising not against Israel but against the Palestinian establishment.

A week of turmoil in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has had Yasser Arafat reshuffling top posts and promising to cede some authority — a key U.S. and Israeli condition for a return to Mideast peace talks.

Arafat, a master political survivor, has survived one cliffhanger after another in his 3 1/2 decades at the top, and at 74 he isn't even close to being removed from power. Millions of Palestinians still idolize him as a national symbol of anti-Israeli defiance, and there simply isn't anyone of his stature to replace him.

But even if his hold over the Palestinian Authority is steadfast, his control in Palestinian territory away from his Israeli-encircled office in the West Bank city of Ramallah is slipping, and he appears weakened.

The riots, protests, kidnappings, resignations and shooting of an outspoken Arafat critic have exacerbated the sense of anarchy.

Events climaxed with a standoff between Arafat and his prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, who quit in anguish over his lack of authority. Arafat rejected his resignation.

A lawmaker said Arafat was offering Qureia, known as Abu Ala, more say — especially over the all-important security services. Palestinians, however, were skeptical.

"Abu Ala will stay in office. He will enjoy some space to breathe but not really to govern. And Arafat will continue to be the maestro of tactics and of survival," predicted Mahdi Abdel Hadi, head of the Jerusalem-based think tank Passia.

The Palestinians scored a victory on Tuesday when the U.N. General Assembly voted 150-6 to condemn Israel's contentious West Bank barrier, but the internal and international pressure on Arafat hasn't abated.

It was highlighted in the scathing public criticism leveled by U.N. Mideast envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, who painted a grim picture of lawlessness and gang rule in the Palestinian territories and effectively blamed Arafat for it.

The stunning change of attitude, by a man the Palestinians consider a good friend, was followed days later by the brief but embarrassing abduction of two top security officials and four French charity workers in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile riots broke out among Palestinians demanding an end to the corruption and lawlessness that have plagued Arafat's government ever since he returned from exile a decade ago.