Wanted: A New Sheriff in Gaza

In Gaza, gunfire sounded throughout the night. Ok. That's not unusual. But for a change, Palestinians weren't killing each other. They were celebrating. In the holy Muslim city of Mecca, leaders of the two rival Palestinian factions vying for power --President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah movement and Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh of the Islamic militant group, Hamas-- finally signed an accord that will stave off a Palestinian civil war.

Or will it?

It helped that Saudi royals proved the Palestinians with a whopping financial incentive, a cool billion dollars, according to some press reports. But the accord wall-papers over some of the trickier issues. In Gaza and in the West Bank, over 17 feuding militias are driving around, waving their semi-automatic rifles and staking out their turf. There are also countless criminal clans, who occasionally do the dirty work for either Hamas or Fatah (but usually Fatah). Some militant militas are also happy to shoot off rockets at Israelis for the right price. And there are plenty of outsiders, such as Hezballah, willing to dish out the cash.

It's fine dividing up the lesser cabinet portfolios for health, transportation and education. But what about the Interior Ministry? Who will rein in the shooters? Right now, there isn't a Palestinian powerful enough, and respected enough, by both Fatah and Hamas who can disarm thousands of gunmen or forge them into a security force that's loyal to the new, national unity government. The Palestinians need a new sheriff, in town, an honest tough guy who can flatten the bullies.

The other deal-breaker, of course, is whether the international community will embrace the new Fatah-Hamas government and lift its 10-month crippling embargo on Palestinians. The Bush Administration was against the national unity government in the first place. (Abbas will have some fast explaining to do when he meets a grimacing Condoleezza Rice in a few days.) So let's say the Americans won't accept. After all, Hamas still refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, or renounce fighting the Jewish state. And if Washington won't approve, Israel won't either.

But maybe the Europeans are weakening. The Palestinians, and the Saudis, too, are hoping that the Europeans may go along with Hamas's concession: the Islamic militant group won't recognize Israel outright, but it will "respect" past international agreements signed by the Palestinian leadership, including those with Israel.

In Gaza last night, it was enough that Palestinians families could safely stroll around the streets without getting caught in the cross-fire of rival militias.

--by Tim McGirk/Jerusalem