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Palestinian Panel Probes Qureia, Cement
I’m still chuckling over this one.
A Palestinian parliamentary committee is investigating whether Palestinian cement companies are providing Israel with material for a controversial West Bank barrier and have been selling concrete to Jewish settlements.
A parable about a rope comes to mind.
A Palestinian lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday there is evidence that a company owned by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia’s family is among them. But other lawmakers said Qureia was not part of the investigation.
Of course not: he’s the target of the investigation.
Israel’s Channel 10 TV also reported that the Al-Quds Cement Company - owned by Qureia’s family - has been providing the materials to help build the barrier, allegations Palestinian officials denied.
Even if it isn’t true it’s fun to report. And when Qureia "proves" it isn’t true, tell everyone the proof isn’t good enough.
The TV report said Qureia was providing the cement to build the concrete slabs right outside his house in Abu Dis, a town near Jerusalem divided by a 25-foot wall.
"And it certainly improved the view from the bedroom windows!"
Television footage also showed cement mixers leaving the Al-Quds company and driving to the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, just a few miles away.
"Where ya goin’ with dat truck, Mahmoud?"
"Um, off to bury the Zionist pigs in cement!"
"Oh, great! Can I come along and explode with you?"
"Um, no. Go ’way."
The lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was "evidence" that Al-Quds was selling cement to Maale Adumim. He said Qureia transferred ownership of the company to another henchman member of his family a few months ago. The lawmaker said this strengthened suspicions that Qureia was involved in improper activities.
Qureia needs to take lessons from the outfit in Chicago. No way a Daley would ever leave fingerprints like this.
The Palestinian premier was in Rome and staying there until the heat’s off unavailable for comment. Qureia is one of the most vocal opponents of Jewish settlements and the barrier, and he is leading a Palestinian effort to garner global support for the Palestinian Cement Contractors Association position. Palestinian lawmaker Jamal Shati, a member of a parliamentary committee that is going to Jordan and Egypt on Thursday to investigate whether Palestinian cement companies are providing Israel with material for the barrier, denied Qureia was part of the investigation. "But when we open the issue of the concrete it will include everything, not only the wall but also the settlements, because building the settlements is the same as building the wall. There is no difference," Shati told The Associated Press.
First time in a while that a Paleostinian has said thing I agree with.
"This is a very dangerous national issue. This is something that belongs to the core of the Palestinian cause."
"My countrymen are exploding with anger!"
"But they’re always doing that."
"Well, they’re going to do MORE of that!"
Lawmaker Hassan Khreishe, who is also on the inquiry committee, also denied the team was investigating Qureia. Khreishe told AP the committee was investigating allegations - which originated in an Egyptian newspaper report published in November - that three Palestinian cement companies had illegally imported concrete from Egypt and sold it to an Israeli businessmen. "We want to know if this cement was used to build the barrier or any other Israeli needs. This is the information we are investigating," Khreishe said. "There are several names mentioned, but for sure, the name of Abu Ala (Qureia) is not mentioned in this issue."
"We won’t be mentioning it, we’ll just have a talk with him. The cement will come in handy when it’s shoe-making time."
Palestinian Cabinet minister Jamil Tarifi is among those being investigated, said Palestinian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Excellent! Can I suggest more names? I’m sure I could implicate a whole bunch of these mutts just for grins and giggles.
Posted by: Steve White 2004-02-11
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=26005