MIDDLE EAST: Nepotism and corruption have made the Palestinan leader a focus for popular resentment and violence, writes Chris McGreal, in Jerusalem
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has spent months staving off pressure to surrender some of his power, particularly control over the Palestinian security forces, to those who might make better use of it.
The Americans, Israelis, Egyptians and British have attempted to cajole Mr Arafat into retreating to the position of figurehead leader. Occasionally Mr Arafat gave ground, but then often subverted the change.
He rid himself of one troublesome Palestinian prime minister, blocked reform of the security forces and undercut attempts by his finance minister to ensure the Palestinian Authority's billions were accounted for.
But Mr Arafat now faces a potentially much tougher challenge - from the Palestinian people themselves.
Bitterness, fear and desperation have bubbled to the surface in the Gaza Strip, producing what some Palestinian commentators are describing as a mutiny that challenges Mr Arafat's web of control, if not his leadership.
Several days of chaos have been marked by kidnappings, open threats to some in the Palestinian leadership for their corruption, and mass protests against Mr Arafat's appointment of a relative and close allies to sensitive security posts in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian prime minister, Mr Ahmed Qureia, sent Mr Arafat resignation letter and warned: "This is a true disaster. This is a level of chaos that we have never seen before."
Mr Arafat declined to accept the resignation. But Mr Qureia and the entire Palestinian government may still be gone within days amid growing frustration at what Mr Arafat's critics describe as his greater interest in retaining control than alleviating Palestinian suffering and confronting Israeli plans to annex large parts of the West Bank.
Mr Mahdi Abdul-Hadi, the head of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs in Jerusalem, said the immediate confrontation was between reformers and the old guard within Mr Arafat's PLO.
But he said the challenge had been prompted by the competition for power in Gaza ahead of the planned withdrawal of Jewish settlers next year, and disillusionment at the corruption and incompetence of the Palestinian Authority under Mr Arafat's control.
"Arafat is facing for the first time a challenge from within his own house. It's a mutiny," Mr Abdul-Hadi added.
On Friday, gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Gaza briefly kidnapped the territory's police chief, Mr Ghazi Jabali. His abductors accused him of stealing £7 million sterling (€10.5 million) of PA money - but the real challenge was to Mr Arafat, who viewed Mr Jabali as one of his most trusted lieutenants in Gaza.
Another group of armed men seized four French aid workers to highlight similar concerns.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Mr Arafat's Fatah, distributed leaflets demanding that money stolen from the PA be returned.
Mr Jabali was released within hours, along with the French.
Mr Arafat immediately sacked the police chief in the hope of placating public criticism, but infuriated people in Gaza by replacing Mr Jabali with another ally who is distrusted by many, Mr Saed Ajaz. The Palestinian leader also named a first cousin, Mr Moussa Arafat, as the head of the main security force in Gaza.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Gaza city in protest. Early yesterday, gunmen torched the Khan Yunis security post staffed by officers serving Mr Moussa Arafat.
The Fatah leader in Gaza, Mr Ahmed Khals, derided the protests as an attempt to create an alternative leadership to Yasser Arafat, with Israel's backing. Fatah is the Palestianian militia most closely linked to Mr Arafat.
Leading the political challenge to the old guard in Gaza is Mr Mohammed Dahlan, the former PA security minister who is the favoured candidate of Israel and the US to take charge of the territory when the settlers leave.
That support has led to him being labelled a collaborator by some of his opponents. But Mr Dahlan is said by his supporters to be doing well in internal elections within Fatah.
Last week, he warned that the Gaza Strip was at a crucial juncture that would either see it gain independence or become a "Somalia".