south) militias have had some tacit support from the Sudanese government.
The UN estimates that 30,000 people have died and Paul Brown Yasser Arafat's beleagured Palestinian Authority is facing an unprecedented level of internal dissent as people in the Occupied Territories tire of his nepotism and corruption.
Police stations have been burned down by persons unknown, while the al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade have taken over local government buildings, and security officials have been kidnapped.
The generation of Palestinian leaders known as the 'Oslo gang' is being usurped by a younger, more militant generation. The fact that the PA provides security for Israel, and yet has done nothing to protect Palestinians from Israeli tanks and occupation has fuelled widespread anger. It has become clear that Israel uses the PA to do much of the work of occupation on its behalf, while still condemning Arafat Ruthless: Sharon as a terrorist.
Osio established a one-party system in the Occupied Territories, and that one party has emerged as a corrupt and repressive, conservative dictatorship that is willing to do Israel's dirty work in exchange for petty power. While Arafat's wife resides in a five-star hotel in France, life for ordinary Palestinians deteriorates. When a petition was circulated stating that "the people are divided into two groups: that of the select who rule and steal, and that of the majority which complains and searches for someone to save it, Arafat had eight signatories arrested, and another shot.
Arafat has now had more than 950 people arrested for political reasons. Torture is systematic, and there have been three deaths in custody. On July 20, Nabil Amr, a prominent critic of Arafat and the PA, was shot twice in the leg in his Ramallah home. It is this approach to security and 'democracy' that has angered so many in recent weeks.
Palestine's internal problems have drawn some media attention away from Sharon's continuing expansion, particularly his new ring of settlements around east Jerusalem which make it impossible that east Jerusalem could ever serve as capital of an independent Palestine. In addition, there is increasing speculation that Israel may unilaterally attack Iran in response to its nuclear programme, much as it did to Iraq in 1981.
Meanwhile, the World Bank predicts that the so-called 'disengagement from Gaza will drive poverty and unemployment to unprecedented levels with catastrophic humanitarian consequences. The annexation of increasingly large sections of the West Bank is being completed by a combination of the Apartheid Wall and various new settlements. Latest projections suggest that Likud will soon have control of an extra 57% of the West Bank, making a mockery of Sharon's "painful concessions' in Gaza.
On a positive note, all of the main political and civil organisations gathered in Nablus on 4 August and agreed that the time was ripe for a unified leadership and political pluralism; called for a national conference in support of radical reform.