Millions missing from PA coffers

[bemildred]

Edit: this is why Hamas was elected in a landslide.

At least $700 million of funds from the Palestinian Authority's coffers have been squandered or stolen by officials over the past few years, an internal investigation has revealed.

The news comes as Israeli officials agreed on Sunday to make an overdue payment of about $45 million owed to the Palestinians, but say future transfers will be halted once Hamas forms the next Palestinian government.

Commenting on the PA squandering issue, Ahmed al-Moghani, Palestinian attorney-general, said: "There are 50 cases of financial and administrative corruption. The amount of money that was squandered and stolen is more than $700 million."

Moghani said 25 officials had been arrested so far and 10 had fled abroad. He said the Palestinian Authority was seeking their extradition.


Al Jazeera

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Send them this link:

http://www.halliburton.com/careers/kbr_careers.jsp

[JDPriestly]

2. Finally! The corruption of the PA was obvious.

This has been obvious for a long, long time. Incredible amounts of money have been given at various times for the benefit of the Palestinians, yet they continue to live in misery. There was absolutely no explanation other than extreme corruption. All the while the PA and Hamas made the Israelis the scapegoats, exhorting the Palestinian people to rage against the Israelis and to violence including suicide in acting out their rage. Meanwhile, members of the PA were profiting -- stealing the compensation intended to help the Palestinians. That is some of the most despicable conduct in history -- topped only by genocides. In a way the corruption has been a sort of genocide because to cover up their corruption the PA and their accomplices have lead the Palestinian people in such a way as to prevent them from focusing on positive ways to improve the lives of their people and instead have lead them to a path of anger and violence and destruction. Instead of killing the Palestinian people, the PA and Hamas have seduced them into killing themselves. How tragic.

[pretzel4gore]

3. $500 billion stolen by the gopigs!

why do the Palestinians get all our media's attention? do they pay taxes? do the Arabs deserve better service then our people? why don't we get a little bit of thwe scrutiny Palestinian affairs get? is it because our media is anti-white racistas? woof blitzer, brite hum, rush limbah-humbug, bill shieffer, cnn, and bill oreilly etc are antiwhite racists! it sure appears so!

[barb162]

4. Palestinian Authority 'may have lost billions'

Palestinian Authority 'may have lost billions'

Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Monday February 6, 2006
The Guardian


The Palestinian attorney general said he had uncovered the theft or misuse of $700m (£400m) of public funds, and suspects much more has gone missing, in an inquiry into widespread official corruption. Ahmed al-Meghami said billions of dollars may have been misappropriated in total and that his office has ordered 25 arrests to date and issued 10 international warrants relating to fraud within the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The announcement comes less than a fortnight after Hamas's sweeping victory in parliamentary elections that is mostly attributed to widespread unhappiness at graft among some Palestinian leaders.

Mr Meghami said that in December that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who is not tainted by corruption accusations, asked him to delay a public announcement about the investigation until after the election because he feared it would be seen as a ploy to win votes.

snip

Mr Meghami did not name the individuals targeted in the investigations, although ordinary Palestinians blame many Fatah political leaders from the late Yasser Arafat downwards.
snip

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1703226,00.html