West Bank – Documents leaked online detailing two attempts by Palestinian officials to misuse public funds have triggered outrage, highlighting the corruption and mismanagement critics say remains rampant in the Palestinian government.
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The furor over the documents comes as the Palestinian economy is stagnating and Palestinians grow increasingly displeased with government services. Palestinian Authority officials have defended their record on stamping out corruption, saying they’ve recovered millions of dollars in misspent funds.
A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t allowed to discuss the leak, confirmed the documents authenticity to The Associated Press. They have offered a rare glimpse into the wheeling and dealing of the Palestinian government, long bogged down by rivalries.
One document signed by Majdi al-Khaldi, a diplomatic adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who accompanies him on his trips to world capitals, asked Bahrain’s foreign minister for $4 million to fund a private neighborhood complex for Palestinian officials in an upscale area of Ramallah in the West Bank. He insisted the complex was “meant to resist the Israeli settlements,” even though there are no settlements where the complex was built.
Opposing Jewish settlements in the West Bank is a major rallying cry for Palestinians, who demand the territory that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war as part of their future state, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. It isn’t clear if Bahrain ever paid the money. Al-Khaldi declined to comment when reached by the AP.
The other document by Nazmi Muhanna, general director of the Palestinian Crossing and Borders Authority, requested the government pay for his daughter’s schooling as well as medical treatment for his family in Jordan for a total of $15,000, a hefty sum for many Palestinians. Muhanna defended his demand, saying it was permitted by the Palestinian government. The government later said it did not cover those expenses.
Outrage over the documents quickly spread on social media, where Palestinians challenged everything from their leadership’s finances to its political legitimacy in the face of repeatedly delayed elections, last held in 2005.
“If Muhanna’s daughter costs the Palestinian Authority 6,500 Jordanian Dinars (about $9,175) in private school in Jordan, what about the poor students in government schools? Who will pay attention to them?” Mohammed Abu Allan, a Palestinian political blogger, wrote on Facebook.
Observers say corruption has decreased since the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat. Abbas has promised reforms, but he has been criticized for ignoring corruption among his loyalists while targeting political rivals.
Azmi Shoabi, the head of Aman, a branch of the corruption watchdog Transparency International, said “there are big black holes” in the Palestinian financial and administrative system that “need to be addressed and reformed.” Those include failing to publish financial reports properly and on time while not overseeing some 20 government-run funds headed by executives with excessive salaries, he said.
Various public departments have become “private kingdoms” for some officials, Shoabi said.
The Palestinian parliament, which has limited oversight powers, has been defunct since the Islamic militant group Hamas’ 2007 ouster of Abbas’ government in Gaza.
Rafeq Natsheh, who heads the Palestinian anti-corruption commission, said that the body is fighting against graft and has recovered millions of stolen dollars. But for Palestinians, the leaked documents only reinforced perceptions that their government remains tainted.
“We need to see the real picture which is much bigger than the fees of Muhanna’s daughter,” Rami Mehdawi, a columnist for the Palestinian al-Ayam newspaper, wrote on Facebook. “The entire Palestinian system needs to be addressed and reformed to clean up the rampant corruption, mismanagement and nepotism.”
What’s the corruption in the two cases mentioned in the article?
The $4 million for a government housing “neighborhood” isn’t a lot of money to build a “neighborhood” and doesn’t sound corrupt – For comparison, NYC has a mansion for its mayor, and my memory is that the Israeli police provide housing for many of its officers.
The $15,000 for Jordanian medical and school expenses also sounds petty, and possibly justified. For this, I would want to know whether these expenses were incurred when the PA relocated the official and his family to Jordan. Someone who knows for certain please correct me if I’m wrong, but my memory is that US government employees who work overseas used to get these expenses covered – I even remember hearing that the USA covered occassional free airfare for childen in elite Swiss boarding schools to visit their US diplomat parents in Africa.
(continuation) I’m not saying the PA doesn’t have corruption – how should I personally know? I’m saying the news article reads like a piece of garbage, and doesn’t offer decent examples of corruption. The only news in the article is that the accusers mentioned in the article are making a bad case for their accusations.
What’s the big surprise? Other than the bleeding heart liberal, jews included, who thinks that Arabs know how to manage anything? Point out one successful Arab country in the world.
this is why Rand Paul would be the best candidate as he would stop funding these terrorists. the US is the #1 funder of Arab terror against jews in the world.
Of course the PA is corrupt. How do you think Arafat’s wife is able to live a life of luxury in Paris?
Sounds like the (so-called) Palestinians are copying the Israelis, no? Thanks
Lo anyone surprised by this? Just like hamass suing all the billions in world aid to build terror tunnels while the residents of gaza live in poverty. No one to blame but themselves, they voted in these vermin.
Who cares. Let them rot. 65 years in self-persection and refugee camps they refuse to leave. They are perpetual losers and victims, of themselves.