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

To: William B. Kohn who wrote (63088)	12/25/2002 7:06:07 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 281500

Some Palestinian officials are tiptoeing towards reform, though the ra'is still seems to be excempt: Palestinian Authority uncovers corruption involving top officials By KHALED ABU TOAMEH The Palestinian Authority has uncovered numerous cases of corruption involving senior officials, the Palestinian Justice Minister Zuheir Surani said Wednesday. Surani, who was appointed minister of justice three months ago, refused to name suspects, insisting that an investigation was still under way to determine the fate tens of millions of dollars, which were allegedly pocketed by top PA officials. He said a high-ranking Palestinian official was among the suspects who would soon go on trial. Although he refused to reveal the identity of the suspected official, well-placed Palestinian sources told The Jerusalem Post that the man in question is Ghazi Jabali, the former head of the PA's blue-uniformed police force. Jabali, who was sacked earlier this year by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, is suspected of amassing $18 million during the seven-year period of his service. A special commission of inquiry set up by the PA found that Jabali exploited his position as police chief to collect large sums of money from wealthy Palestinians. "The PA is serious about implementing major reforms in all sectors," Surani said. "We have decided to pursue anyone who is involved in the embezzlement of public funds." This is the first time the PA has made such an announcement, and analysts believe it is aimed at appeasing foreign donors and Palestinian reformists. A Palestinian legislator from the Gaza Strip told the Post that the minister's announcement was "insufficient." "What about the top leaders?" asked the lawmaker. "Only recently we heard about the secret Swiss bank account, where one of Arafat's men deposited $300m. Why isn't there an investigation into this case?" A Ministry of Justice official said in response that he was unaware of any investigation into the Swiss bank account scandal, which was revealed by Ma'ariv three weeks ago. "I don't think we're allowed to go that far," the official explained. "We're talking about directors of banks and big finance companies who exploited the security situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to steal millions of dollars," he added, saying some of the suspects have fled the country. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Legislative Council's legal committee met in Ramallah Wednesday to discuss the abolishment of the PA's notorious "state security" courts. Human rights activists and lawyers have been pressuring the PA to dismantle the courts because of their gross violation of defendants' rights. jpost.com