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Palestinian Official: PA's Corruption Will Enable Hamas Takeover

(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has surrounded himself with many of the corrupt officials who used to work for Yasser Arafat, and that's why Hamas will one day take control of the West Bank, Fahmi Shabaneh, appointed by Abbas four years ago to root out corruption, said Thursday. "Unfortunately, Abbas has surrounded himself with many of the thieves and officials who were involved in theft of public funds and who became icons of financial corruption." Shabaneh, who until recently was in charge of the Anti-Corruption Department in the PA's General Intelligence Service, said, "Had it not been for the presence of the Israeli authorities in the West Bank, Hamas would have done what they did in Gaza." "It's hard to find people in the West Bank who support the Palestinian Authority. People are fed up with the financial corruption and mismanagement of the Palestinian Authority." Shabaneh asserted that Fatah personnel stole much of a $3.2 million donation given by the U.S. to Fatah ahead of the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary election, won by Hamas, which had been intended to improve Fatah's image and boost its chances. Shabaneh said he was forced to quit his job several months ago after exposing a sex scandal involving one of Abbas' top aides. "I was offered $100,000 not to expose the last sex scandal, but I chose not to accept the bribe. I'm the one who resigned...because after all that I've seen, I no longer believe that Abbas' authority can be reformed."
2010-01-29 08:28:56
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