Fatah's loss may have spurred inquiry into millions in stolen aid

Ramallah, West Bank: In the wake of Hamas's parliamentary poll landslide win, government embezzlement and graft have moved to the top of the Palestinian domestic agenda.

This week, the Palestinian National Authority's attorney general announced 50 investigations that account for about $700 million (Dh2.57 billion) stolen from the government treasury.

While the inquiries are being credited to President Mahmoud Abbas, observers say it was the ruling Fatah Party's loss in last month's Palestinian parliamentary vote that sparked a push for investigations into the corruption within the PNA.

"The veto power that [Fatah politicians] had before the election to stop this type of investigation is no longer around," says Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian political commentator. "They're not out of power yet legally, but they're out of power morally."

Observers say the cases only scratch the surface of wrongdoing that could implicate top politicians, business people, and civil service organisations. The inquiries are critical not only for restoring public trust in the government, but to reassuring foreign investors and donor countries that have provided more than $5 billion in assistance to the PNA over the last five years.

"[Fatah] lost a vote of confidence and now there are legal actions that will confirm what the public has already confirmed," says Sam Bahour, who owns a Palestinian technology consulting firm.

"We don't know what it's going to reveal. Dealing with corruption on such a large scale is difficult for Palestinians to acknowledge. But you have a very pro-active attitude on the part of Palestinian people wanting to see this being dealt with."

Hamas leader Esmail Haniyeh recently estimated that more than 1 in every 5 jobs funded by the government budget is fictitious implying about $200 million in wasted money a year, said one economist. "The Palestinian people are expecting the new representatives to handle these files seriously. Once the files are open, there will be pressure to pursue them to the end," says Abed Fokah, who was elected on the Hamas list.

Bank accounts frozen and assets seized

Palestinian prosecutors have frozen bank accounts and seized assets of dozens of suspects in a widening corruption probe of senior Palestinian National Authority officials believed to have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, the Palestinian attorney general said.

Suspects are also barred from leaving the Palestinian areas and their names have been forwarded to Palestinian officials at the Gaza-Egypt and West Bank-Jordan crossings, the attorney general, Ahmad Al Meghani, said in a telephone interview late Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Al Meghani said his investigation concluded that government officials may have stolen billions denied to them in recent years.