Gaza, March 2 (Reuters): Gunmen shot dead a veteran Palestinian journalist and prominent adviser to President Yasser Arafat in Gaza City today, witnesses and medics said.

Khalil al-Zebin, 59, who ran a Palestinian Authority-funded magazine and advised Arafat on human rights and media issues, was the most prominent victim yet of a breakdown of law and order accelerated by frequent Israeli raids.

In Washington, the Bush administration showed signs of moving toward agreeing with Israel on a unilateral plan to remove Jewish settlements from Gaza — which some analysts suspect could inflame a developing Palestinian power struggle.