GUNS, GUNS, EVERYWHERE. Even as Israelis and Palestinians work to get Middle East peace talks back on track after the Hebron massacre, preliminary negotiations -- now taking place in Cairo -- already promise more guns for the tinderbox city. The Israelis have grudgingly agreed to a demand by PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat to allow Palestinian police to patrol Hebron along with Norwegian observers operating under the auspices of the United Nations. The two new armed forces will join the Israeli Army and the 415 radical Jewish settlers who also tote weapons. Add to this volatile mix the militant Muslim group Hamas, which has its stronghold in Hebron and which boasts a well-stocked arsenal.
Tension remains high in Hebron. Last week, the curfew in effect since February 25 was lifted for the 110,000 Palestinians living there. Last week, the Israeli Army used antitank weapons to kill at least three Palestinians -- whom the Israeli officials called Hamas ringleaders -- holed up in a Hebron house. Palestinians rioted to denounce the Israelis for laying siege to the house from a hospital roof and for killing a pregnant Palestinian woman in the attack.
Meantime, the Israelis wait for what they sense is the inevitable: some sort of violent action by the Palestinians to avenge the Hebron massacre.
