In a February 21, 2010 article, Jaber Al-Harmi, editor of the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, attacked the moral and financial corruption of the Palestinian Authority and its leadership, and condemned the Arab countries that acquiesce to this corruption.
Following are excerpts from the article:[1]
"The PA, which was Established to [Help] the People, has Become the One that Robs It, Conspires Against It, and Steals Whatever Can be Stolen [from It]"
"Every day, the defeated Palestinian people is sobered by noisy scandals, the principal actors in which are various officials of the so-called Palestinian National Council. Barely a day passes without us hearing about moral corruption [committed] by PA officials, or financial corruption that has for years infiltrated and sent its roots into the very foundations of the PA. [No one] fights this corruption or purges it from [the PA's] ranks, because most of the PA leaders are partner to it.
"Recently, a scandal was uncovered in which two officials in the PA apparatus were accused of conspiring against and collaborating with the Israeli Mossad in the Dubai assassination of the martyr Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, a Hamas leader. This security collaboration between the Palestinian 'National' Authority apparatuses and Israel is nothing new. The assassination of several leaders of the resistance, to which the Palestinian arena was witness, was, unfortunately, the result of information provided by the PA apparatuses to Israel – and this is what made it possible for the enemy to carry out his mission and easily assassinate the commanders of the [Palestinian] factions.
"[So here we have] certain individuals in the PA not only conspiring against Hamas, but also collaborating in security affairs with Israel, in order to carry out dirty operations against Palestinians and against a sovereign Arab state, the UAE... How did it happen that these elements preferred Israeli [interests] to those of the Arab countries?
"The PA scandals sicken not only the Palestinian people, which adheres to its resistance and waits patiently both within and without [Palestine] – but also all the Arab peoples... Every time the situation comes to a head, 'President' [Mahmoud Abbas] declares an investigation of everyone suspected of involvement in corruption cases. But [in the end] the affair passes with no clarification or punishment, and the scandal is hushed up...
"The PA, which was established to solve the problems of the people, has become the one that robs it, conspires against it, and steals whatever can be stolen [from it]. So what is left for Israel [to do] if the body meant to protect the [Palestinian] people is playing this dirty role?
"Liberation movements... are [usually] more concerned than others about keeping their hands clean and using their capabilities, both material and human, for the liberation and building of the state. The exception to this is the Palestinian Authority, which is very far from patriotic [in its behavior]. Most of its leaders... are trying to seek the best way to obtain illegal profits, even at the expense of the defeated people, and to extort the PA – even by means of the Israeli 'apparatus.'"
"The Arab countries that are Satisfied with the Deeds of the PA … are in Fact Accessories to the Crime Against the Palestinian People"
"It is not only the Palestinian people, but also, and primarily, the Arab countries, that are responsible for ending this corruption that is gnawing away at the PA's foundations... and for settling accounts with its officials. In addition, there must be oversight for the aid received by the PA ostensibly in order to support the Palestinian people – because the Palestinian people gets [only] crumbs [of it], if anything at all.
"The Arab countries that are satisfied with the deeds of the PA and ignore the corruption and scandals that emerge from it are in fact accessories to the crime against the Palestinian people – which has no one to deal with [this crime] and no one to complain to.
"Oh PA officials, [first] you must build your state and liberate your people – and then you can steal to your hearts' content. The people will accept it, and will in [the] future also avert their eyes from your corruption – but you must [first] rack up [at least one accomplishment], even a small one, for the [Palestinian] people, which is suffering under the rule of the occupying enemy and under your regime.
"What has the PA achieved for the Palestinian people since it came to Palestine 20 years ago – except for legitimacy for the deeds of the occupier – that is, Judaization, ruin, expulsion, plundering of the land, destruction of homes, and more settlements[?]...
"Anyone who plots with Israel to destroy and eliminate Gaza, and asks the enemy to continue its attacks against its residents, as happened a little over a year ago [during the Gaza war]... it should not surprise us when he conspires to murder a leader here and there. "
Endnote:
[1] Al-Sharq (Qatar), February 21, 2010.
