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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Ex-Abbas aide Husseini: I was framed |
| 2010-02-15 |
| [Ma'an] Rafiq Al-Husseini, the former chief of staff to President Mahmoud Abbas, said Sunday he is innocent of allegations broadcast on Israeli TV days earlier. Flanked by relatives, Al-Husseini told reporters that a videotape apparently showing him propositioning a job applicant for sex was a fabrication. He refused to answer questions. In brief remarks, Al-Husseini read aloud a statement alleging that conspirators, who he did not name, dubbed his voice on the videotape for the purposes of blackmail, both political and financial. He described the videotape as manipulated, noted it was more than a year and a half old, and insisted he informed Abbas at the time. Nevertheless, Al-Husseini said he would cede power as instructed and cooperate with the PA's commission of inquiry, which will be headed by Fatah Central Committee secretary-general Abu Maher Ghneim. However, he also said he would not submit to supposed blackmail, which he suggested was intended to compel him to resign and "leave the homeland." Al-Husseini said he would "continue to fight corruption and confront the occupation in Jerusalem, my city, my battle, and my destiny, like all other Jerusalemites." Al-Husseini termed the broadcast, which appeared Wednesday evening on Israel's Channel 10, "a meeting between corruption and collaboration with the occupation." He applauded the Arab media outlets that opted not to air the allegations brought forward by Fahmi Shabanah, a former Palestinian Authority intelligence official who says he was forced to turn to an Israeli broadcaster after Al-Jazeera and Al-Hurra turned him away. In a show of support from Al-Husseini's family, several relatives applauded after he finished reading. Abbas dismissed the former aide earlier Sunday, days after the broadcast, and formed a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption put forth in the footage and documents provided to the Israeli network. Shabana, the intelligence officer who provided the footage, was head of the PA's anti-corruption department until his recent dismissal. Shabana said he initiated a sting when a job applicant informed PA intelligence of Al-Husseini's alleged misuse of his seniority in the US-backed government. According to the official PA news agency Wafa, the committee will present its findings in three weeks. Abbas has officially dimissed Husseini from his post, pending the results of the investigation, Wafa reported. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Al-Husseini read aloud a statement alleging that conspirators, who he did not name, dubbed his voice on the videotape for the purposes of blackmail, both political and financial. He described the videotape as manipulated, noted it was more than a year and a half old, and insisted he informed Abbas at the time. "But that was in another country and besides, the wench is dead." |
| Posted by: Swanimote 2010-02-15 08:18 |