EU wants to question Palestinian prisoners about PA funds

The European Union wants to send investigators to Israel to interview Palestinians in Israeli prisons about the Palestinian Authority's use of European donations to fund terrorism.

The EU fraud investigation agency (OLAF) opened an investigation at the end of last year after a unanimous demand from the European Parliament for a probe of allegations that PA chairman Yasser Arafat and senior officials transferred EU funds to Fatah's military wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

Parliamentarians requested an open investigation, but a classified one by OLAF was ultimately decided upon. OLAF officials visited Israel at the beginning of 2004 and reviewed documents and testimony presented by the IDF and Shin Bet security service.

Some of those documents were seized during the IDF raid on Arafat's Muqata compound in Ramallah during Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002. After examining the material, investigators determined it was authentic.

Continued...

The beat goes on. No one is immune. Even Arafat's power has its limits.

for the Palestinians' cultural and economic poverty. Look at other the behavior of other corrupt leaders, and you will see in Arafat the picture of corruption.

He is a sick, miserable old man, but he dares not let go of power, because if he does, his successors will find out how he has used his people to enrich and glorify himself. He keeps his people blind to the true cause of their suffering by encouraging them to hate. This is the typical behavior of corrupt "leaders." (We don't have to look far to find another great example of this.) The whole world should demand an accounting from the PA and Arafat.

Though I will not deny he is a model for corruption and cronyism none of which have helped the Palestinian people achieve self-sufficiency.

However one of the leading causes of poverty is the growing polarization and disenfranchisement of moderate elements from Palestinian politics This division, more than anything, has kept the rhetoric high and the effectiveness at a minimum.

Also, I disagree with your phrase "cultural poverty". This has a broad meaning implies a weakness of Palestinian culture. It is a very rich culture from all indications I've seen. What I suggest you might mean is a fragmented polity.

L-