Where did tens of millions of dollars of Palestinian assets disappear to?
Massive amounts of funds, assets disappeared in the 1970s, during the rule of the movement's late leader Yasser Arafat.
By Avi IssacharoffThe Fatah central committee convened recently to discuss the disappearance during the 1970s of huge sums of the organization's money and other holdings. The discussions followed a complaint on the matter before the Fatah Revolutionary Council.
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Palestinian boy touching a mural of Yasser Arafat in Gaza City, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. |
| Photo by: AP |
The issue involves tens of millions of dollars of assets, according to various estimates, that Fatah's chairman, Yasser Arafat, transferred to dozens of activists because the organization was not allowed to register ownership of the assets in Fatah's name at the time.
Each received $2 million to $3 million in cash or real estate of various kinds, that were registered in the recipients' names.
The real estate was located in Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and several other locations around the Arab world. Over the years, however, many of the activists who received the organization's wealth purportedly "forgot" to report what they had. The financial management of Fatah at the time was primarily in the hands of Arafat himself, and there is almost no documentation regarding what was distributed and to whom.
Some of the assets were bequeathed by the recipients to their children, and traces of the wealth over the years have virtually disappeared. Fatah sources say some of the property was listed in the name of Farouk Kaddoumi, the former diplomatic chief of the PLO, who was a rival of current Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Fatah central committee convened an investigative panel that began to look into the matter, and the panel has come up with preliminary conclusions. The anticipated publication of the recipients of the assets in the 1970s is expected to engender a fierce reaction within Fatah and beyond.
Several months ago, Channel 10 television disclosed the manner in which the assets disappeared, based on documents provided by Fahmi Shabaneh, who was the Palestinian intelligence official responsible for combating corruption. The publication of the names of those who received the assets may be an indication that Fatah intends to avoid responsibility for the corruption that was so endemic in the organization in the past.
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Some of the money went to pay for poor palestinians who would sell their children as suicide bombers so that the rich politicians wouldn't have to sacrafice their own children. These rich politicians each got brand new expensive European cars when they won their elections. Palestinian society is very similar to Mexico; 95% poor and 5% rich. To keep the money train running; it's easier to portray starving people in the streets, then to really show that the money is being used on war material. Facts are facts and the palestinian people are pawns for the corrupt arab regimes.
Arafat was an honest man, he didn,t steal a penny , but people around him were and still are corrupt and they stole tons of millions of dollars. The current PA is a bunch of thieves who do not waste any opportunity to steal and nobody is excluded , all of them have businesses, high priced properties, and cash all over the region and abroad. To alot of people,s surprise Hamas does not suffer from that corruption , Hamas does alot of good work for the poor and the needed and they don,t steal. That is why they won the last elections and chances are they,de win them again.But Israel and the U.S. don,t want to deal with Hamas may be because a corrupt negotiator is an easier one to deal with.
Arafat was an honest man, he didn,t steal a penny , but people around him were and still are corrupt and they stole tons of millions of dollars. The current PA is a bunch of thieves who do not waste any opportunity to steal and nobody is excluded , all of them have businesses, high priced properties, and cash all over the region and abroad. To alot of people,s surprise Hamas does not suffer from that corruption , Hamas does alot of good work for the poor and the needed and they don,t steal. That is why they won the last elections and chances are they,de win them again.But Israel and the U.S. don,t want to deal with Hamas may be because a corrupt negotiator is an easier one to deal with.
Why are they worried about tens of millions of dollars from the 70's? That's peanuts compared to what's been misapropraited since Oslo.
Why does this convicted terrorist have a forum to spew his propaganda? Once Islam would take over Israel, they would kill, subjugate and persecute the Jewish people as they have done throughout the Middle East. Hamas, Hizbullah, Ahmadinejad and the other loving Islamists have their own Final Solution in mind. But hey, even ardent Jew-haters around the world didn't believe Hitler was capable of killing 6,000,000 (and more if he had been allowed), so why not trust Jewish security to the beneficence of this murderous Jew-hater? Islam and tolerance are not consistent concepts. Jews should be responsible for their own protection, and should have a safe haven in their historic homeland given to them by God. Without a homeland, they Jews cannot exist, and their enemies know this. For Jews having their own state It is not a matter of racism; it is a matter of survival. The intolerance and brutality comes from "Islam" which by definition means "submission", and that's what the Islamic world wants and intends to do not only to Israel, but to all of the world.
Given an underlying culture of corruption, the more money available the more that gets stolen. With the EU and the West shoveling money to the Palestinians since Oslo, there's just that much more to steal. And steal they did. When people in the West started questioning where all the money was going, the PA's supporters worked to squelch the investigations.
The new voting system of the talkback shows that anti-Israelis outnumber pro-Israelis by about three to one. But on the matter of Arafat's corruption, the reverse prevails. Actually, the anti-Semites don't even touch the subject but chant in unison, as always, how bad Israel is...their default literature... What a corrupt group!
In the Swiss Banks. For the Swiss the money do not smell.
Lets talk about Arafat and what happened to all that money. It gives us the feel good factor albeit temporarily. Who needs to talk about making peace---what with people who allow their well armed leaders to syphon off funds. Never happens in Israel---right-----right. Enjoy your ten monute brak guys---the job still has to be done. Making peace , that is. Making concessions --that is. Yeah we know---you would rather talk about Arafat.
This isn't the point. Arafat has embezzled hundreds of millions - not tens as this article erroneously states - and reiterating this fact is vital not because it serves to slow down the "peace process" but in order to show that peace never was a goal of Arafat/PLO in the first place. Arafat ran a commercial terrorist organization and never cared about his subjects and their well being. The only thing he cared about was successful destruction of Israel. Did you know Arafat was a KGB agent?
Dear Labhras, The same stinking cesspool of corruption exists with the PA today as it did 10s of years ago. The Palestinian people on the street (at least those that I have had the privilege to have met) are so sick of all this corruption, there is a pretty good chance that the PA will be voted out of power if ever a new democratic election would take place in the West Bank. You would like to blame Israel for all the Palestinian woes - It is a trick used by different Paelstinian and Arab politicians for years as an excuse not to clean up their own act.
No mention of that. Electing Hamas was the Palestinian,s way of adressing the Corruption issue. So what did Israel do---they arrested "HALF" of the Elected governmnet many of whom are still in jail. Please proud Israeli --do try to respond with a modicum of honesty. Israel does not want peace--not at least a peace that involves giving up the dream of a Greater Israel. Here is an example of what I mean. " Ben-Gurion emphasized that the acceptance of the Peel Commission would not imply static borders for the future "Jewish state". In a letter Ben-Gurion sent to his son in 1937, he wrote: "No Zionist can forgo the smallest portion of the Land Of Israel. [A] Jewish state in part [of Palestine] is not an end, but a beginning ..... Our possession is important not only for itself ... through this we increase our power, and every increase in power facilitates getting hold of the country in its entirety. Establishing a [small] state .... will serve as a very potent lever in our historical effort to redeem the whole country." (Righteous Victims, p. 138) Now go read the Likud Charter to get you up to date.
Lehi/Stern/Irgun/Hagannah You sure you want to go there ---DAVD m.
For labhras,no matter what the Arabs,& especially the Palestinians do,it's OK. It seems that even if one of them were to rape his mother,or daughter,he would find some extenuating excuse to back the Arab rapist !
I'm sure an audit into the spending of Jewish Diaspora donations and misallocations of Israel tax funds would reveal that BILLIONS of dollars were wasted or ended up in the pockets of a well connected few. Clean up your own house before pointing the finger at the Palestinians.
The people of Israel used money to build homes, hospitals, schools, universities, medical care, museums, farms, industry, parks, forests, research and much more and developed an infrastructure of nationhood. You ask where the money went - look around the uses are visible
.... based on hot air. It reeks of bias and racism. In any event, if your wild accusation is proved right, two wrongs don't make a right.
I see the results and they are often substandard: just drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and you see overcrowded neighborhoods next to open idle land, a mountain of garbage, a train viaduct that goes straight into hillside and a massive interchange that will remain half built because a mistake was realized after construction started.
Maybe I'm just annoyed of seeing my taxes squandered by corrupt officials? Why is there a tendency among Israelis to label their critics 'racist' whenever they don't like what they hear (change the subject). What a convenient excuse to everything.
The fact that Fatah, has now launched an investigation can be applauded. Of course, the investigation will ultimately lead either back home or on another path, probably with many exits that end up cold. Blaming Mr.Arafat is all well said, however Mr.Arafat, had to pay a handsome price to maintain his leadership, with a fractured and corrupt Fatah. Now we know, why Hamas was so astute, also how with less funds, how they managed to be elected by the people of Gaza. Corruption is endemic in the Middle East, nobody can claim,"clean-hands", for its a way of life. The best friend of my enemy, has a lot of money, so he is my best friend as well, depending on his generosity. Strange bedfellows, are they not? Good day.
I always find it amusing when the Swiss complain about corruption, since literally billions of dollars of Jewish art, money and Jewels stolen during WWII by the Nazis is sitting in Swiss banks and private homes.
The Swiss. Even till this day part of the Swiss & German economy is based on stolen Jewish monies & properties !
Why point all the fingers at dead people? Look closely at Abbas and his cronies and you'll see that his sons have become millionairs! The PA gang lives in fancy homes, drive expensive cars, and wear nothing but Italian suites. They roam the world and stay at the most expensive hotels and feed on the most expensive meals. Abbas, look in the mirror before blaming the dead! It was YOU that ran to Paris to buy Suha's silence soon after Arafat's death! What were you afraid of had she spilled the beans?
You have President, Prime minister, Ministers, Mayors, chief of staff...etc all trialled for corruption...and you claim to be the only transparent and democratic State in the ME. On the other hand, Palestinians did not claim that, and they did not reach your stage of corruption, so you are not only corrupted but also liars hypocrites. And by the way...the PLO money is managed by a very effective organization called "Palestine Investment Fund"
... as a true democracy, we expose these failures and attempt to correct them. No so the PLO, Fatah, Hamas - or any Aran country in the region. That is transparency. And the gullty - if guilty - shall be grought to justice. The PLO, so corrupt, cannot claim transparency, even though they try.
and pretend nothing is happening in your state controlled media while it is open for all to see in the Israeli media.
It is out in the open it is in the media not censored to make sure the media do not publish a word and tarnish the heroic revolutionary image,men of honor and other fairy tales
much as i am pro israel but i feel strongly that money should have gone to the arabs who really needed it,instead of blamming israel for lack of money and being poor. from what i can see in israel and west bank,theres rish and poor on both sides,like every where in the world. always makes me laugh when people say all jews are rich..well have to go off to work now..not that rich to stay at home!!
Suha Arafat if living the life of the rich but infamous in Paris, she receives almost $2,000,000 besides what Arafat stashed away in Swiss and other European banks. What Arafat spread around to his close cronies was peanuts. The Bulk of the $40,000,000,000 is in Suha's hands. It sure paid off well to be a terrorist with "Big Ideals" $40,000,000,000 big.
Where did all this aid go to? Look at the cars, swiss bank accounts and houses of the high Palestinian officials and there is your answer.
Most of that money was used to build up Palestinian infrastructure (harbours, ports, schools) which are then routinely bombed by Israel. That annoys us Europeab taxpayers very much.
.... to be annoyed. Israelis are also annoyed that the billions of dollars we invested in Gaza in agriculture, infrastructure, community service buildings and more was trashed by the PLO as soon as Israel withdrew. Instead of using the infrastructure for their own benefit, they destroyed it out of spite. Civilian buildings destryed by Israel were used as illegal military sites by Hamas terrorists. It was indeed a shame.
Elisabeth--Where exactly are these ports? The port of Ramallah? As for schools, ask Hamas not to fire rockets from schoolyards and they wont' be bombed
Israel can have it all with current Arab rulers culture of corruption and unaccountabilty. The PLO and the Palestinian struggle was the latest newcomer to the club of 21 or 22 Arab states where the key slogan is: terrorize, steal locally, and be the obedient servent to the West and Israel. It is well known that 5% of saleryies of all Palestinians in the Gulf States goes to the PLO, ie, to Mr. Arafat and Co. After Oslo, the number was multiplied by 10-100 fold and the corruption became institutionalized and tolerated. While ordinary Palestininas suffer a lot to survive the parti of Oslo, enjoys negotaiating for ever.
Ch. 10 aired this months ago, and months ago Jerusalem Post had an expose by Khaled Abu Toameh detailing the systematic kleptocracy of Arafat and his cronies. Haaretz has only now got the news? Remove your pink glasses and see the Palestinian rampant and incorrigible corruption, and report on it on time, not months later.
The European Union can always provide them with more.
Call Suha 1(800) rich gal
Hear say?
It is well known that Arafats wife has millions and millions of dollars. It came out when the poor leader of the pals was sick in France. The rest of the pals leadership were making a play for his money. If she cared she would of given most of that money back that her disgusting husband stole, but hey if the Pals are kept down thats good for the Arabs.
i hope they all pay for their corruption.
Oh yeah? We're talking of 100 of millions USD here in case of Arafat and his clique stolen from "poor, opressed, desperate" people. Olmert is accused of 2-3 mln shekel fraud, stolen from not the poorest country in the world. There's a difference. Liebermann ...hm...do you know anything? I don't .. Haaretz does, or thinks it does... Just say simply, and by the way - I ahte Liebermann too. Just out of sheer spite. Liebermann delenda est - you must repeat this ad nauseam, the bigger the lie, the easier it is to believe in it.
1. rich politician who makes deals with other rich people and takes stupid decisions about and ugly building, and whose population/institutions are mature enough to eventually hold to account vs 2. man presenting himself as a fighter for the poor and oppressed, with no accountability to anyone, who diverts badly needed funds to individuals. i think i'll take choice #1. not you?
I guess you're right unless you start to consider Israel's role in inducing corruption and compliance with quite obvious objectives within Palestinian politics as state policy as well as its 'thinning" of the educated Palestinian class .......one might then see that there's enough smelly stuff to spread far and wide.
I guess you're right unless you start to consider Israel's role in inducing corruption and compliance with quite obvious objectives within Palestinian politics as state policy as well as its 'thinning" of the educated Palestinian class .......one might then see that there's enough smelly stuff to spread far and wide.
Check with Arafat's loaded wife and their Swiss bank accounts leaning over like the Tower of Pizza! How the poor Palestinians can still look at Arafat as a hero is beyond comprehension.
He made it to the Fortune rich list,while the donors and apologist media looked the other way. He built a casino leaving the refugee camp oppositte.The proceeds went-? He was given money to build radio & TV stations and used it to broadcast hatred against Israel & the USA ensuring the Palestinians would reject peace in the future. Barbra Plett of the BBC wept,an indication of the BBC partisan reporting.
The professional terrorist bosses from fatah,the p.l.o.,hamas,hizballah and many other live like nabobs on the blood and bones of the poor devils they use as cannon fodder...The poor palestinian fellahs live a miserable life,while the afatrat's "wife" lived the good life in Paris and the abbas,eratcats,meshals and all other bosses enjoy their Mercedeses,BMWs and all the luxuries that the moneys of the sucker donnor nations can buy
I'll wait until the Palestinians complain about Arafat's wife..... what comes from an advocate for Israel illegally acquiring Palestinian territory, is not to be believed.
We know that we can't let such a corrputed organization govern. That's what we're trying to fix before givign them anything, as well as terrorist branches financed by the corrputed money (they call themselves Fatah activists). It's not an excuse, if you can fix it, we'd be glad to give Fatah the West Bank. I
I haven't heard lately that Israel "illegally acquired" land in Jordan. Because Jordan is 78% of historic Palestine and had been stolen from the Jews...
instead of trying to wriggle every which way. how many PM in the world travel on bicycles?
instead of trying to wriggle every which way. how many PM in the world travel on bicycles?