Chaos in Gaza.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Maybe the chaos, kidnappings and sharp staccato of Kalashnikovs currently ripping apart the Gaza Strip are nothing more than the prelude to a greater bloodbath. In Gaza, hopeful signs are even harder to find than jobs.

But there is something heartening in the emergence of at least some Palestinians who are willing to publicly demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the corruption, cronyism and embarrassing ineffectiveness of Yasser Arafat's leadership.

Further killing is almost certain as Chairman Arafat struggles to retain control of his disintegrating Palestinian Authority in the wake of challenges by Hamas, the resignation of his prime minister, and the revolt that greeted the appointment of his cousin to oversee Palestinian security forces. But it's telling that the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, linked to Arafat's own Fatah party, burned down a Palestinian Authority security base in protest of Musa Arafat's appointment as thousands of gunmen marched through the streets.

While it's premature to suggest Arafat's disastrous leadership of the Palestinian people is about to end - no credible successor appears ready or willing to take over - the resignation of his second prime minister in less than a year could finally push the 74-year-old warrior to implement long-promised reforms.

No Palestinians are in more desperate need of attention than the 1.3 million crammed into the narrow coastal strip between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. Crippling unemployment and poverty are aggravated by the oppressive Israeli security needed to protect some 7,500 Jewish settlers in 21 Gaza outposts.

Arafat's obsessive focus on fighting Israel has left him unable to deliver what his people in Gaza need most: homes and jobs. Palestinian safety in Gaza is a nightmare - no one is in charge, and rag-tag militias run roughshod over the corrupt Palestinian Authority security forces.

Gaza's slide toward anarchy will embolden opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plans to evacuate all Gaza settlements by the end of 2005. In fact, since Sharon announced his plan earlier this year, Jewish settlement leaders in Gaza have successfully recruited new residents in an effort to bolster resistance to the pullout.

The United States must hold Sharon to his promise to abandon the Gaza settlements. Egypt, with a clear interest in preventing Gaza from disintegrating into chaos, can be counted on to be a strong partner.

The U.S. has long agreed with Israel that Arafat is not a credible negotiating partner. The current anti-Arafat demonstrations in Gaza provide a useful lever with which to pry loose overdue reforms, and perhaps even to hasten Arafat's departure.

Successful Israeli withdrawal from Gaza remains the most potent potential route to renewed peace negotiations. Once skeptical Palestinians can see that the Greater Israel settlement movement can no longer block any withdrawal from the occupied territories, real hope for a two-state solution can take hold.