(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - The EU's anti-fraud squad, Olaf, released a long-awaited report Thursday that found "no conclusive evidence" to link EU funds to Palestinian terror, a conclusion dismissed in Israel as "mistaken" and a "whitewash." At the same time, the report also said, "some of the practices of the past, such as the payment of salaries to convicted persons or the financial aid given to families of 'martyrs' as well as the Fatah contributions by PA staff, are liable to be misunderstood and so to lead to allegations that the PA is supporting terrorism." Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said, "We know that this is not true. There is specific, detailed, incontrovertible evidence that shows the contrary is the case." Following Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, when boxes of documents were taken from Arafat's offices in Ramallah that Israel said showed a clear link between the EU money and terror payments, Israel provided the EU body with what it believed to be hard evidence.
2005-03-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive