The town of 130,000 is the biggest of six due to be handed over this month under a peace deal. Nablus was the third, after Jenin and Tulkarm, to switch hands. This is a historic moment in our lives.
Palestinian officials face a daunting task keeping order in the city.
They worry about the large number of guns in the hands of the public and a violent contingent of activists from Arafat's Fatah faction. We are living in a state of security chaos. There are a lot of weapons. About 200 members of Arafat's own group were PAID during the eight-year uprising against the occupation to rule by the gun. The biggest city in the West Bank, Nablus also has the largest concentration of these vigilantes.