Peace Postponed

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Israel had announced that a Palestinian police force would be deployed in - Jericho and the Gaza Strip and that international observers would take up posts in Hebron last week. Neither event took place, although the arrival of several hundred Palestinian police was vaguely rescheduled for this week. Contrary to the Jewish settlers' nightmares, the advance party of Palestinian police will not be allowed to roam freely with weapons; an Israeli military source insisted they will be unarmed and under Israeli supervision.

The Gaza Strip is still the site of daily clashes between Palestinians and Israelis, though last week it looked as if Israel might actually withdraw. Although no strategically important positions were abandoned, filing cabinets, computers and pre-fabricated offices were moved. The P.L.O. and Israel have not yet agreed on the boundaries of the future autonomous area in Jericho, but Israeli army bulldozers flattened ground for new military headquarters less than three miles from the city. Gazans expect the Israelis to redeploy closer to the settlements and hope a less visible Israeli presence near Palestinian population centers will lower tensions. But as impressive as it may seem to Israel's Western friends, such a redeployment carries dangers. If it occurs before establishment of Palestinian authority, especially the police force, the Israelis may leave chaos in their wake. Both Palestinians and Israelis say weapons have poured into the Gaza Strip over the past few months. Residents hear shooting every night. Any Gaza City taxi driver is able to quote the going price of M-16 and Glilon automatic rifles and Uzi submachine guns.

Members of Hamas say hundreds of activists in the Sheik Radwan quarter of Gaza City have been arrested by Israeli commando squads during the overnight curfews since the Feb. 25 Hebron massacre. Two weeks ago, an Israeli undercover unit shot dead six Fatah Hawks -- an armed group loyal to the P.L.O. -- in the Jabalia refugee camp. The Israeli army apologized for the shooting -- not because the Palestinians, who were carrying weapons, were shot without warning, but because they were Arafat's men. "If they had been Hamas members, we would have been justified in killing them," contended an Israeli military source. "I.D.F. soldiers have orders to shoot to kill anyone carrying a weapon. You don't fire warning shots in a combat situation. All Gaza is a combat situation, all the time."

Throughout the occupied territories, the continuing fragmentation of Palestinian groups bodes ill for successful implementation of the peace ^ accord. Fatah Hawks now "coordinate" their activities with the I.D.F., earning them the opprobrium of militant Palestinian groups, including the Hawks' own defectors, who want to keep fighting the occupation. "The Israelis are allowing the Hawks to carry weapons on the streets," charges a Hamas member. A Palestinian was killed when Hawks opened fire on Hamas activists who threw stones at them in Gaza's Rafah refugee camp two weeks ago. Last week Fatah and Hamas engaged in tit-for-tat kidnappings of each other's members in Jabalia. The hostages were freed within 24 hours, but tension between the two main Palestinian groups remains high.