Israeli TV station says it has uncovered Palestinian corruption with help of whistle-blower

Israeli TV alleges Palestinian corruption

RAMALLAH, West Bank — An Israeli TV station said Wednesday it has uncovered evidence that Palestinian Authority officials have stolen millions of dollars in public funds.

The Channel 10 TV report was based on interviews with a Palestinian whistle-blower, Fahmi Shabaneh, a former Palestinian intelligence officer.

The station’s reporter, Zvi Yehezkeli, said Shabaneh showed him documents that back up the allegations. Shabaneh displayed some of the documents during the TV report.

The report did not name the officials who allegedly stole the money, but said they include confidants of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It said one of the methods was to overbill the Palestinian government for real estate purchases made in its name.

Palestinian Attorney General Ahmed Mughani dismissed the allegations as baseless and said he plans to sue Channel 10. Palestinians can file lawsuits in Israeli courts.

Mughani said Shabaneh is wanted by the Palestinian authorities on suspicion he sold land to non-Palestinians. Shabaneh is a resident of Israeli-controlled east Jerusalem and not within reach of the Palestinian security forces.

Abbas was traveling in the Far East on Wednesday and was not immediately available for comment. An aide, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, claimed the Israeli government was behind the publication of the corruption allegations.

Corruption was rampant under Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004.

Shabaneh said he was appointed by Abbas, who was elected in 2005, to investigate the corruption suspicions. He said that when he went to Abbas with his findings, he was ignored.

Abbas’ prime minister, respected economist Salam Fayyad, is credited with cleaning up public finances in the Palestinian Authority since Arafat’s death. Fayyad handles hundreds of millions of dollars in money from donor countries every year and publishes details on government spending.

Palestinian anti-corruption campaigners said that while nepotism still exists in the Palestinian Authority, money is now tightly controlled.

“The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have praised the financial system of the Palestinian Authority as one of best in the region,” said Mahmoud Abu Rub, head of the Audit and Administrative Control Bureau.

“The flaws of the Palestinian Authority are administrative and individual,” he said.