TURNING THE VIOLENCE INWARD:

ARABS NEAR CIVIL WAR (URI DAN, October 8, 2002, NY Post)

The Gaza Strip was on the verge of a civil war yesterday after gunmen in disguise - believed to be Hamas terrorists - assassinated a top-ranking Palestinian police chief.

Four Hamas members and supporters were killed in bloody clashes that followed the kidnapping and slaying of Police Col. Rajeh Abu al-Hiya.

Al-Hiya would be the highest-ranking official of the Palestinian Authority killed by Hamas, and his death ends months of relative calm between the radical Muslim group and Yasser Arafat's police.

Though impolitic to contemplate, this is likely to be one of the main benefits of pushing for internal reform in the Arab world. They'll be so busy killing each other they won't have time to murder the rest of us. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 8, 2002 8:06 AM