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Hamas' Corruption

(Jerusalem Post) Jonathan Schanzer - A recent poll indicated that 70% of Palestinians view the longtime leaders of the PA as irreparably corrupt. However, the same poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, found that 57% believe there is widespread corruption in Hamas' Gaza institutions as well, despite its successful electoral campaign in 2006 that promised to clean up corruption. In October 2011, the Guardian reported that Hamas members were acquiring large homes and fancy cars. As a Gazan confided to the Guardian, "Hamas is a party that only benefits its own party, its own supporters. If you want a job, if you want to do business, you must be a supporter of Hamas." In April 2012, the Washington Post reported, "Hamas has hired more than 40,000 civil servants, and analysts say the top tiers are filled by loyalists. Members of the Hamas elite are widely thought to have enriched themselves through investment in the dusty labyrinth of smuggling tunnels." An AP report added, "Audis, Porsches and Hummers are driven around potholed streets by a newly wealthy class of black market traders who benefit from the [Hamas] regime." The writer, a former terrorism intelligence analyst at the U.S. Treasury, is vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2012-08-23 00:00:00
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