Palestinian infighting quadruples...

Abbas needs to get this under control...

The number of Palestinians slain in vigilante killings and other internal violence nearly quadrupled over the past four years, from 43 in 2002 to 151 so far in 2005, according to statistics presented Thursday, and one top security official said more Palestinians were killed in internal violence this year than by Israeli troops.

The descent into lawlessness was hurting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas politically, at a time when he was trying to beat back a tough challenge by his Islamic militant rivals. This week, a Palestinian parliament frustrated with armed gangs and corrupt police officers ordered Abbas to disband his cabinet and make crime-fighting his top priority.

"The security situation is deteriorating in a very dangerous way, with no one putting a stop to it," said Hassan Khreisheh, the deputy parliament speaker.

In the most recent incident, gunmen affiliated with Abbas' ruling Fatah movement killed a Gaza taxi driver Sunday. At the time, a group of drivers were blocking a junction in southern Gaza to protest rising fuel prices. The gunmen demanded the junction be cleared, then opened fire, killing 30-year-old Yasser Barakeh.