MIDEAST . . . PLO CRACKS DOWN

PLO chairman Yasser Arafat's Palestinian National Authority arrested at least 35 suspected Muslim extremists after Israel threatened to halt talks over expanding Palestinian self-rule to the entire Gaza strip. Arafat's move came a day after gunmen from the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, killed an Israeli and wounded six others in drive-by shootings in Gaza. The extremists said Arafat's police were already confiscating weapons from Hamas members, a policy shift that TIME Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyer says is unprecedented and risky. While it may show the Israelis that Arafat is serious about peace, Beyer says, "it's not very popular for Palestinians to arrest Palestinians." And in the short term: "These Hamas people are very dangerous -- it's like disarming the Mafia."