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These refugees have the greatest anger for Arafat's Palestinian Authority. None of those jostling for handouts were among the elite who returned with Arafat from exile in Tunis in 1994. These refugees lived here and struggled against Israel's occupation through the first intifadeh. They expected Arafat to share the wealth on his return, to spread the billions of dollars pumped in by international supporters. Instead, they have seen it hogged by "the Tunisians." "I spit on the day they came," Abu Amira says. "I'd like to see them all shot in the street." This is more than just resentment of riches; it is a driving force for the intifadeh. No matter how much they might want to manipulate the intifadeh to pressure Israel, the "Outsiders" who arrived with Arafat from Tunis don't want to press so hard that Israel demolishes the Palestinian Authority's institutions and, with them, their power base. The "Insiders," leaders who were jailed by Israel or who remained underground during the first intifadeh, felt they didn't get a fair share of the wealth and position doled out by Arafat. So when this intifadeh began, many of the Insiders decided they had little to lose if they brought Arafat's system down on their heads. They figured they might be able to carve local power centers out of the general chaos.
The difference between Inside and Outside is more than just money. Insiders want reform, free elections and a level economic playing field, or, in some cases, just to be cut in on the corruption. Outsiders want to hold onto their power, squash the press and keep their business monopolies. The lawlessness of the intifadeh has made the squabbles more coldly violent. In February, Abu Amr, the owner of the Beach Hotel in Gaza City, invited Hisham Mikki, the head of the official Palestinian television station, to sit with him in his empty restaurant, smoking a water pipe and looking out over the Mediterranean. Mikki came back from exile with Arafat and amassed a fortune from corrupt deals. He began to puff on a nargileh filled with apple-scented Bahraini tobacco. Barely was the pipe lit when a man walked quickly toward him. Before Mikki could move, the gunman killed him with a three-shot combination known to hit men as "Mozambique style"--a bullet to the forehead and one in each breast. It was a local power play--a battle over cash that may have been spun off by a corrupt deal--but an example of the kinds of Palestinian-on-Palestinian violence that corrode the cause.
THE TOWN AGAINST THE TRIBE
At the top of Madbassa Street near Bethlehem's old souk, a group of peddlers recently set out wares at the side of the road. The intifadeh has hit the economy hard, and this was a chance for locals to buy good quality cheaply--all the goods were stolen. There was everything from jewelry to potted plants. A pair of "Nike" sneakers was $3. Shoppers jostled for bargains. From the rooftops all around, gunmen kept watch.