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Middle East | ||
EU funds | ||
2004-01-21 | ||
A TEAM of inspectors from OLAF, the European Union fraud office, is this week arriving in Jerusalem to investigate whether EU funds have been misdirected by the Palestinians. The European fraud-busters come at a time when allegations are mounting of corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian officials and employees of pressure groups in the West Bank and Gaza are accused of having systematically diverted foreign aid over recent years. But the outcome of the OLAF investigation is by no means certain.
see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil. just pay for it. In the hope of their simultaneous call for pigs to fly was considered more likely to occur The EU has placed customs tariffs on Israeli goods produced in West Bank settlements. EU aid to Israel is not allowed to be used in the occupied territories. The time may have come for the EU to apply similar sanctions to the Palestinians. Yasser Arafat is suspected of having been paying the salaries of terrorists from the e10m in monthly EU budget support for his civil service. Patten’s claims that the EU funds were minutely supervised by the IMF have been disputed by the IMF official responsible, Salaam Fayyad, now Palestinian finance minister. An IMF report concluded that $900m was ’diverted’ from the PA budget up to 2000. Former Palestinian cabinet minister Abdel Fattah Hamayel admits paying $40,000 per month hey. have you seen the price of C4 lately!?! Stephen Bloomberg, a London-born engineer, is suing the EU for e20m. In August 2001, two Palestinian gunmen sprayed his car with bullets, killing his pregnant wife and leaving Mr Bloomberg and his teenage daughter paralysed in wheelchairs. The gunmen were caught by the Israelis. One was a police officer and the other the police chief from the West Bank town of Qalkilyeh. Their salaries at the time were paid by the EU. It is also alleged that corruption may have tainted EU donations to Palestinian Non Governmental Organisations. Much of the e105m donated since 2000 has been
he was released that afternoon, after the photo ops Recently, the Palestinian NGO Network flatly refused to sign a pledge, requested by the American aid body USAID, that they will not ’provide material support or resources to any individual or entity that advocates, plans, sponsors, engages in or has engaged in terrorist activity’. what? you mean you won’t pay us to kill Jews? They said they preferred to reject the $1.3m received from USAID in the past decade rather than sign the pledge. The EU should consider a similar pledge - combined with concrete action - from the Palestinian NGOs and the Palestinian Authority government. | ||
Posted by:PlanetDan |
#6 What if we just sent the charities funding in the form of Walmart gift cards. It would be harder to use the funds for evil as they could only draw cash if the remainder on the card was less than $5. If you use one of the cards at my local Wal-mart to fill up, you can get 4 cents off per gallon of gas. That might have a damping effect the spirally worldwide price of crude. |
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-21 1:40:46 PM |
#5 Former Palestinian cabinet minister Abdel Fattah Hamayel admits paying $40,000 per month ’living expenses’ to those Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades gunmen not already employed by the Palestinian security forces. Which means the Paleo security boys get more, right? Otherwise they'd hit the bread line. $40,000 per month ANYWHERE in the world would buy you a soft life -- great house, good food, lots of entertainment and toys, education, you name it. ANYWHERE. So why is Ein-al-Hellhole such a shithole? Why is Jenin a shithole? Ramallah? Same thing. Each and every village and city on the West Bank and Gaza is a dump. Don't blame the Israelis, either. They were working to whip the place into shape right up to the time they pulled out and gave Yasser his long-coveted "autonomy". Lot at the result. I hope USAID sticks to its guns and doesn't dispense another penny. I have no hopes at all for the EU. |
Posted by: Steve White 2004-1-21 1:05:12 PM |
#4 Forty grand a month? In the PA? Palaces indeed... |
Posted by: mojo 2004-1-21 12:22:59 PM |
#3 Between this scandle and Oil For Food, I am begining to feel like the close relative of a crackhead must. |
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-21 11:26:44 AM |
#2 Over 20% skimmed off the top, just from the exchange rate alone. In plain sight. Absolutely Positively F#$king Hilarious. Hey Chris Patten, why do you still have a job? |
Posted by: Daniel King 2004-1-21 11:19:42 AM |
#1 I will kiss Arafat @$$ at high noon at the temple mount if he spends ONE day in custudy. This is all for show, nothing will become of this and the terror will continue. USAID has drawn a line in the sand, but EU (France/Germany) has no cajones to make this worthwhile. I preduct they (EU) will boost the PA fund and the stealing will continue. |
Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-1-21 10:27:53 AM |