(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Matthew Levitt - The PA claims it needs $58 million per month to cover the salaries of its public servants. However, seized PA documents indicate that PA salary expenses came closer to $40 million. The documents show that Fatah branch offices requested that the PA pay the salaries of its activists, adding their names to the rolls of the Palestinian security agencies. Israeli authorities discovered over sixty copies of checks made out to various Fatah branch offices in the West Bank from the PA Finance Ministry's "salaries account," yet this account is intended only to fund the salaries of PA employees, not Fatah activists. Furthermore, the checks could have been used to finance any kind of activity, including terrorism. If the PA is determined to fund terrorists, streamlining and efficiency may only facilitate the transfer of more money to the terrorists.
2002-08-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive