Thursday, July 29, 2004

Arafat's Empire of Corruption

An exploration of corruption in the Palestinian Authority , from Ha'aretz:

"In the eyes of much of the world, the long spasm of Palestinian violence was fueled solely by fury over occupation. But the bottomless well of rage also tapped years of grass-roots resentment over graft in the Authority, which in the eyes of its constituency had sapped, diverted, misspent and squirreled away fortunes; funds which could have helped meet the humanitarian needs of more than three million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"How widespread is corruption in the PA, and how deeply rooted? "