We’re Shocked (the PLO is Corrupt?)
The PLO steals? Yasser Arafat has private bank accounts in Paris? We’re shocked!
OK, we’re not. But we are furious with Congress and the President for ignoring clear, longstanding evidence of Palestinian abuse of donor funds – a large portion of which came from American taxpayers. The London Sunday Telegraph (12/5/99) writes:
The PLO steals? Yasser Arafat has private bank accounts in Paris? We’re shocked!
OK, we’re not. But we are furious with Congress and the President for ignoring clear, longstanding evidence of Palestinian abuse of donor funds – a large portion of which came from American taxpayers. The London Sunday Telegraph (12/5/99) writes:
Hackers discovered that the PLO maintains about £5 billion in numbered bank accounts in Zurich, Geneva and New York. It also holds accounts with smaller sums in North Africa, Europe and Asia. They are not registered in the PLO’s name, but in the names of private individuals. The records also showed that the PLO owns shares on the Frankfurt, Paris and Tokyo stock exchanges, including stock in the German car giant Mercedes Benz, and property in prestigious areas of European capitals, including Mayfair in London. The organization, which once specialized in aircraft hijackings, also has shares in several airlines, including the national carriers of the Maldives and Guinea-Bissau.
Was President Clinton aware of this last month when he pressured Congress to appropriate an additional $400 million for the PA – on top of the $500 million already transferred? Was Congress aware? Well, they are now.
Note for Mrs. Albright when she arrives in Israel
Arafat will try to divert attention from this scandal and the growing chorus of Palestinian resentment of PA corruption. He will accuse Israel of ruining the chance for peace by building in areas that just about everyone recognizes will remain under Israeli control after final status talks. Don’t take the bait. Tell the Palestinians:
1. The U.S. government is furious with PA corruption and fully supports Palestinian efforts to uncover and punish it. And the President will support congressional efforts to establish accountability and prevent American money from being squandered. If it can’t be done, too bad. The United States has no business funding the private pockets of a corrupt Palestinian leadership.
2. The U.S. has lost patience with continuing Palestinian incitement against Israelis and Jews – accusing Israel of infecting Palestinian babies with the AIDS virus, selling contaminated food and using chemical weapons. When the PA teaches the next generation of Palestinians to hate, it is reasonable for Israel to place relatively greater emphasis on its own security and relatively less on generosity toward Palestinian aspirations. This has implications for settlement policy.
3. Israel alone will determine its security requirements. This means the U.S. will not pressure Israel to “negotiate” the parameters of future IDF redeployments with the PA. If the PA doesn’t want to accept land from which the IDF withdraws, OK.
The Palestinian public and Israel are entitled to American support on these items. Announcing an American position that demands fiscal accountability and fulfillment of obligations by the PA, and reins in Palestinian expectations that the U.S. will “deliver Israel,” would vastly improve the chances of a secure and durable peace for both sides.