The PA's collapse would leave tens of thousands of Palestinian security officers leaderless and without a salary, and open up a trade in the personal weapons they carry, said Brom. "It could end up in a situation like Libya, with a leakage of weapons that could then be turned on Israel."
In what some have characterised as a new intifada, or uprising, more than 155 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed since October in a series of attacks in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel.
Until now most attacks have been carried out by individual Palestinians using knives or driving cars at Israelis -- spontaneous, "lone-wolf" incidents that have been impossible for either the Israeli or Palestinian security forces to combat.
But in an indication that the nature of the attacks might be changing, three Palestinian youths from Qabatiya, close to Jenin in the northern West Bank, organised what one Israeli analyst termed a "complex, sophisticated" operation in East Jerusalem on Wednesday.
They used a submachine gun to shoot two Israeli policewomen at Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the Old City, killing one. The group failed to detonate homemade bombs.
200 attacks foiledFrom Israel's point of view, the role of the Palestinian security services is to help foil attacks requiring that degree of planning, using its on-the-ground intelligence against armed groups before they reach their target.
Majid Faraj, who heads the Palestinian intelligence services, made precisely this boast last month to a US newspaper. He told Defense News his forces had prevented more than 200 attacks against Israelis since October, confiscated large numbers of weapons and arrested more than 100 Palestinians.
He added that the collapse of the PA and its security services would result in "anarchy, violence and terrorism."
Faraj faced a wave of rebukes from Palestinian leaders for his comments, with a Hamas legislator calling for his trial for "grand treason."
Faraj's remarks have contributed to mounting accusations from Palestinians that, without a political process to establish a Palestinian state, the security services are simply collaborating with Israel to perpetuate the occupation.
Noticeably, Abbas did not condemn the attack by Sukari, who received a military burial.
The criticisms of the Palestinian security services' role in helping the Israeli military, as large numbers of Palestinians are being killed, have likely added to the pressures on security officials like Sukari.
Brom said there was a concern in Israel that Sukari's attack could lead to copycat shootings by other Palestinian security officials.
Tariq Dana, a politics professor at Hebron University, said further attacks would "constitute a major threat to the PA, given that it's founded on a security doctrine that requires its hegemony over Palestinian society."
Adel Samara, a political analyst based in Ramallah, told MEE: "I have no doubt that the PA will look into their own ranks for those who are or have a tendency to act like Sukari, and will either nullify or fire them, but it cannot do anything beyond that."
US training roleLast spring the PLO Central Council voted to suspend security coordination with the Israeli army, accusing it of making "daily raids throughout the state of Palestine."
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