(Jerusalem Post) - Khaled Abu Toameh Palestinian Authority officials and institutions in the Gaza Strip have been stealing basic food supplies and medicine provided by UNRWA and Arab countries and selling them on the black market since 1996, according to documents seized by the IDF during a recent raid on the Protective Security Service headquarters in Gaza City. Large supplies of medicine and other equipment donated by Arab countries as humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people are being sold at private pharmacies. At one stage, Fawzi Nimer, head of the Israeli Arab desk in the PA, wrote to complain that a number of illegal associations operating in Gaza were exploiting food donations by Israeli Arabs to make a profit. IDF sources, well aware of the phenomenon, noted that most of the thefts were taking place at the Rafah border crossing, controlled by the Preventive Security Service, which cooperates with the PA Minister of Supplies, Abu Ali Shahin, a top Fatah leader and Arafat confidant. Shahin is referred to by many Palestinians as the "minister of theft."
2003-01-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive