Yes, and what is Hamas doing? The same thing.-------------------------------------Ex-PA paymaster: Arafat used foreign aid to buy weapons
Former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat ordered millions of dollars, taken from international aid funds, tax money transferred by Israel and from Arab countries, to be used to purchase weapons and ammunition, it was revealed on Wednesday
These weapons were then provided to Palestinian terrorists from the Tanzim and al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades.
The information came from the interrogation of Fuad Shubaki, the Palestinian official who was arrested by the IDF two months ago in a raid on the Jericho prison where he was held together with the assassins of former tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi. Prior to his imprisonment, Shubaki served as the finance chief in the Palestinian security forces.
[To read an archive interview the Post had with Shubaki, click here]
Shubaki estimated that some $7-10 million were used every two years to purchase arms for the Gaza Strip, and another $2 million were used to fund the West Bank weapons, the Prime Minister's Office said. He added that when money was in short supply, then weapons purchases would be reduced.
He revealed that several senior Palestinian officials were involved in the allocation of the money to military purposes. Among them were, Jibril Rajoub, Amin al-Hindi, Rashid Abu Shabak and Ghazi Jibali, who all received payments for their part in the weapons purchases.
Shubaki informed his investigators that when the Intifada broke out in 2000, Arafat ordered the establishment of several bodies, consisting of PA officials in various Arab countries, who were in charge of purchasing large amounts of arms.
He noted that the members of those bodies presented Shubaki with the deals and he would then go to Arafat for approval.
Iran was one of the most generous donors, Shubaki said, offering to assist the Palestinians by training fighters, providing weapons and weapon-producing know-how and funding the establishment of installations that could generate arms.
However, Arafat rejected an offer that Iranian representatives made to Shubaki in a meeting in Dubai in 2001, fearing it was an Iranian plot to undermine Arafat's rule.
One of the largest weapons deal struck between Iran and the Palestinians was the import of 50 tons of armaments on board the ship Karine A. Shubaki revealed that the transaction was coordinated between the PA, Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
In addition to the light weaponry used by the Palestinians at the time, the Karine A also bore Sagger guided anti-tank missiles used by Hizbullah against Israeli armor in Lebanon, LAW anti-tank missiles, long-range mortars, and mines. Also on board the vessel were short- and long-range Katyushas, including 122 mm rockets with a range of some 20 kilometers.
The ship was eventually intercepted by Israeli Naval commandos en route to Gaza 500 km off of Israel's coast.
Jpost.com