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Reining in Abbas
(National Interest) Jonathan Schanzer - The U.S. House of Representatives wants to hammer Mahmoud Abbas and the PA for snubbing American-led diplomacy and applying for statehood at the UN last month. Congress and the White House should zero in on Palestinian corruption and shape a new aid regime that accomplishes U.S. objectives more effectively. Abbas controls the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund, whose board he hand-picked and whose by-laws he rewrote. Since 2006, the PIF has awarded contracts exclusively to Abbas cronies, including his sons, Yasser and Tareq. The PIF-backed Wataniya cellular phone company, which drew on international-donor funding, inked a lucrative advertising contract with Tareq, while his brother Yasser sat on its board. The Abbas family is now said to be worth millions, with lavish property holdings and investments throughout the Middle East. What's needed is not a wholesale cut in aid, but a concerted effort to root out PA corruption. This would include U.S. Government Accountability Office audits of Abbas' presidential budget, international oversight of the PIF, and a much closer look at the financial relationship between the PA and Hamas in Gaza. Most importantly, it would give the White House and Congress new leverage over the wayward Palestinian leadership. The writer is vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.