(Deutsche Welle-Germany) A growing chorus of German politicians is calling for measures to be taken against Arafat's government, including a freezing of EU aid. The foreign policy spokesman for the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), Gert Weisskirchen, told the Berliner Zeitung Tuesday that EU foreign ministers should stop financial aid payments to the PA if the power fight gets any worse. Earlier this week, German public broadcaster ARD ran a report with documents showing that Arafat wired $5.1 million in September 2001 to a personal account at the Arab Bank in Cairo. The millions may also have included international aid money. The Christian Democratic Union's spokesman on Middle East policy, Ruprecht Polenz, called for the blocking of Arafat's account, "in which aid money is apparently sitting illegally."
2004-07-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive