The Seeds of Civil War

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One school of thought in the government argues that Palestinian self-rule should be limited to the Gaza Strip and Jericho and not expanded, as promised, to the rest of the West Bank -- at least until Arafat proves he can effectively govern Gaza. The alternate view holds that Israel must help Arafat by granting him a political victory, namely extending autonomy to the West Bank as soon as possible. Dromi believes the second school will win out.

In the meantime, the situation in Gaza remains perilous. Warns Mansour Shawa: "If the path is not corrected, we are heading for calamity. Any future confrontation -- any -- will lead to widespread violence." Whatever the remedy, it had better come quickly, lest the slogans on Gaza's walls turn out to be prophetic.