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Palestinian Anger at Mahmoud Abbas Hits Israel's Security
(Globes) Danny Zaken - Since the beginning of the year, Israeli security forces have seen a sharp increase in terrorist incidents - including stone throwing on main highways, as well as more serious incidents like shooting, stabbing and car ramming attacks. One leading researcher relates the uptick in terror to the deterioration of the Palestinian economy, which has yet to recover from the Covid pandemic. The Palestinians are completely dependent on foreign aid, which has decreased by 65%, from NIS 2.9 billion in 2016 to NIS 1 billion in 2021. I asked Amjad, a Palestinian laborer from Hebron who has been working in Israel for years, about his opposition to the announced plan to transfer his salary through Palestinian banks instead of continuing to receive it in cash. "You are cooperating with the corruption of the Palestinian Authority, and so are the Americans. Every dime that enters the Palestinian Authority goes to the corrupt. What do they do for us? Roads? Schools? Nothing. It's all from foreign money or from Israel, and what comes to them goes into their pockets." These harsh sentiments are echoed in countless conversations, and investigations by international media substantiate the complaints. PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' sons, Yasser and Tarek, are wealthy businessmen. Yasser founded companies in the fields of computers and communications. Reuters found that USAID tenders worth millions of dollars in a wide variety of fields somehow fell "accidentally" into Yasser's hands. Foreign Policy magazine noted Yasser Abbas' monopoly on the sale of American cigarettes. Tarek is the owner of the advertising and public relations company Sky, the largest in the PA. Almost every product marketed by international companies in the Palestinian Authority passes through it. Sky also holds the exclusive franchise for advertisements on Palestinian state television.