PLO WANTS TO DISARM MILITANTS

Stepping up retaliation following last Sunday's terror bombings, Yasser Arafat ordered PLO security forces todisarm militant Islamic opponentsin Gaza, despite threats that such action couldtrigger a Palestinian civil war. "It's an impossible mission", says TIME Israel reporter Jamil Hamad. "Gaza is overcrowded, the people give terrorists cover, and the PLO police are not qualified to do the job." The mood is so tense, says Hamad, thatPalestinians now complain publiclythat PLO officers are mistreating them and abusing children. One furious Palestinian mother told Hamad today that -- unlike in the days of Israeli control -- many of those arrested are jailed without having seen a courtroom: "Mr. Arafat, you will pay."Campaign '96 File