(Daily Star-Lebanon) Editorial - The Palestinian people are now becoming aware of the extent to which they have suffered at the hands of their own government. This week, the attorney general for the Palestinian Authority has stepped up an investigation into corruption and the pilfering of aid money and government funds that ought to have been used to improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians. The current probe marks the first serious attempt on the part of the government to do something about it. The widening probe has revealed that billions of dollars were likely stolen from government coffers. Some of the companies being investigated for stealing government money don't even exist, such as an imaginary water pipe company which collected $6 million in PA and Italian funds. On Thursday, prosecutors froze the bank accounts and seized the assets of dozens of senior officials suspected of corruption. The international community ought to insist that Palestinian officials, who have long been enriching themselves at the expense of their people, make a commitment to good governance.
2006-02-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive