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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: carranza2 who wrote (25402)	4/15/2002 9:53:21 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Yes, the evidence is pretty clear that Arafat has diverted substantial sums of aid money for the personal benefit of himself, his family, and his cronies. He has essentially created a Kleptocracy which has directly contributed to the poverty of the Palestinian people. His wife and daughter live in Paris, while his people live in squalor. Despite the source (Likud), the evidence is strong that since Arafat's return, the standard of living for the average Palestinian has been substantially degraded. likud.nl But here's just as good of a link about Arafat's corruption: odaction.org And another article our misguided friend GST should read: aish.com

To: carranza2 who wrote (25402)	4/15/2002 10:04:48 PM
From: Katelew	Respond to of 281500

Carranza....Per the Sunday Times of London, there might be something to your claim of PLO fraud, etc. but overall I can't be persuaded by your source. This article is emotional and inflammatory...full of supposition. Articles like this couldn't persuade me about anything. Here's a little relevant commentary to the economic condition of the Palestinians in the 90s. The source is the World Factbook, also know as the CIA Handbook, published by our govt. Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) GDP - real growth rate: -7.5% (2000 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est