The second intifada comes to end as Palestinian officials strike security deals

Political analysts argue that the second intifada is now over thanks to the Palestinian fear that a war on Iraq would divert world attention from any possible atrocities that the Israelis might want to inflict on them during a potential war in the region.

Palestinians have considered several scenarios of what would be the Israeli reaction to any escalation in resistance during regional turbulance. Analysts here say that the Palestinian leadership saw it inevitable that the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would fall heavily on the Palestinians and step up his offensive that might lead to transferring Palestinians from the occupied territories to the neigboring countries.

Therefore, analysts here believe that the Palestinian leadership has opted for the most low profile solution: Restoring the pre-intifada status quo between Palestinians and the Israelis.

Palestinians took this decision after Israel succeeded, to an extent, in making of the aging Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, irrelevant and has replaced his with younger leadership whose power has been on the rise for the past months. Hani al-Hassan, whom Arafat appointed Internal Security Miniter last October, seems to be winning extra power and momentum. Al-Hassan, has overtly called for the end of the intifada saying that if war happens, the Israeli reaction to the intifada might be harsh and unpredictable while no Arab nation would be able to the rescue of Palestinian amid a regional war.

During an interview on Future Television a few weeks ago, al-Hasan told Abdel-Rahman Rashed the Editor-in-Chief of the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, that Palestinians should now seriously think of drafting a constitution for their state, which has been authenticated by recent Security Council resolutions, and should work hard to appoint a prime minister thus producing a system similar to that of France.

Al-Hasan, for a greater part of the interview, echoed Israeli demands that the Palestinian leadership appoints a premier, drafts a constitution and runs administrative reform.

Al-Hasan, who has been holding several meetings with the Israelis in order to rearm the Palestinian police and retake security control of several Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

Even though al-Hasan is an appointed minister, he seems to be independent in his decision-making from Arafat and the PLO.

In the al-Ayyam daily newsppaer published here, the third page always reports on Arafat's daily activities including his receptions. Of these never-ending number of meetings, al-Hassan's name does not feature often among the names of Arafat's visitors.

Al-Hassan has succeeded in supressing the different faction of Fatah's Tanzim and has stopped military action against the Israelis. The last Fatah offensive against the Israeli was carried in early January. Hamas, that bombed a bus in Haifa by the beginning of this month in which 15 people were killed, seems to be battling the leadership and the Israelis.

Eventhough no faction claimed responsibility for the bombing, the Israeli Army attacked the Gaza strip where Hamas is dominant.

But Analysts also say that Hamas has shown readiness to stop attacks during the all-factions meeting in Cairo in January.

Yet Hamas is trying to achieve domestic presence by not stopping military action inside the 1948 territories.

Other than Hamas zeal, most factions look settled toward running reform and going to the Quartet (US, UN, EU and Russie) table for negotiating a new Oslo.