1. "'Forbes': Arafat worth $300m" (The Jerusalem Post, February 28, 2003). The Forbes figure is modest in comparison to other estimates of Arafat's riches. An Israeli intelligence official told the Knesset last year that Arafat's net worth is $1.3b. In 1995, the U.S. General Accounting Office compiled a report on Arafat's finances, but it was kept secret due to "national security interests."
2. "Billionaires: Kings, Queens & Despots list" (Forbes magazine, March 17, 2003). "Valuing these fortunes is a tricky business. Why do we separate these folks from our main ranking? They don't exactly represent success stories of entrepreneurial capitalism," states the magazine.
3. "Auditing Arafat" (Profile of Yasser Arafat in Forbes magazine, March 17, 2003). "The Palestinian leader has more than Israeli tanks to worry about. He may be brought to heel by, of all things, honest financial accounting... Financial reforms might succeed in hampering the flow of money to terrorists might even end up toppling Arafat himself. Money keeps Arafat in power. With a tight grip on much of the $5.5 billion in international aid that has flowed into the PA since 1994, he appears to have overseen virtually all disbursements... Take the money out of his hands, reform a corrupt financial system and you could reduce the violence."
4. "Banking on terror" (By Rachel Ehrenfeld, The Jerusalem Post, February 27, 2003). "A rumor that the European Parliament had passed legislation to begin an investigation into the Palestinian Authority's use of EU funds, is just that. Francois Zimeray, a MEP (Socialist Party, France) was quoted in Ha'aretz on February 24 as saying to the World Jewish Congress that such an investigation is underway. He either misspoke or was misquoted...
"In June 2002, after international condemnation of the PA's corruption... the EU decided to continue its financial aid to the PA on the grounds that it is not convinced that Israel will continue to transfer the money to the PA. This decision not only perpetuates the EU's unwillingness to account for the whereabouts of money it gave to the Palestinians, but also the EU's lack of accountability and transparency. Instead of coming clean, the EU Commission headed by Patten, and the Conference of Presidents thought it was better to sweep the investigation under the carpet. Only this time the red on the carpet is the blood of the victims of terrorism." (Rachel Ehrenfeld is a subscriber to this email list.)
I always knew you were the sort of person.
