Be Careful What You Ask For

The coming ‘Palestinian’ civil war?

After decades of struggle, the displaced Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank finally got their 'Palestinian self-rule'. Now there are regrets

Oh, but I thought Israel was the problem.

A Palestinian journalist told me, ''I'm not justifying the occupation, but in many ways, it was better. If I had a complaint, the Israelis would resolve it. Now, our security forces — 50,000 of 150,000 government employees — break into homes; extort money; rape wives and daughters. A revolution has been brewing for some time. If [now-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon had not stormed onto Temple Mount (which ignited the current conflict in September 2000), there'd be a Palestinian-Palestinian intifada, not one with Israel.''

Guess not.