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Former Palestinian Official Accuses Palestinian Authority of Institutional Corruption
(Times of Israel) Former Palestinian Authority intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi, 77, on Tuesday publicly accused the Palestinian leadership of allowing systemic corruption to flourish within its institutions, in an open letter addressed to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. "The corruption system now operates with confidence and immunity," wrote Tirawi, a senior member of the Fatah central committee. "Did our people make all these sacrifices... only for us to reach a stage where thieves and land brokers are left to spread corruption without deterrence or accountability?" he wrote. Critics say the PA lined the pockets of elites with tax proceeds and international aid, while funneling much of what was left to a massive security apparatus trained to crack down on dissent at the behest of its patrons. An October poll by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 80% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza want Abbas to resign.