Last night there was fighting in the streets of Gaza as Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction clashed with militants from the extremist group Hamas. Today, a fragile truce reigns, but Yasser Arafat remains a man stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one side: Israel, enraged at recent suicide attacks and demanding swift action against those responsible. On the other, those militant groups themselves, particularly Hamas, whose leaders claimed responsibility for weekend attacks. Following Arafat's 1996 crackdown on Hamas, the militant Islamic organization appeared to be in retreat. But fourteen months into the second bloody intifada, Hamas' strength is growing. Arafat, Hamas, and the stand-off in Gaza.
