As the turmoil in the Gaza Strip continues, high-profile Palestinians are expressing their opinions more freely about Palestinian Authority (P.A.) Chairman Yassir Arafat and the way the P.A. is being managed.
Former Speaker for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Rafiq A-Natsheh said in an interview with the Qatari newspaper A-Sharq that his removal from the post of PLC speaker was a decision made within the Fatah movement, because he planned to set up a committee likely to implicate Arafat in a corruption case.
There were suspicions concerning $11 million that were transferred to Arafat’s wife in Paris, two years earlier. He also wanted to reveal files detailing corruption in the P.A.
“[Arafat] rejects reforms, he rejects their implementation,” A-Natsheh said. A-Natsheh said the Palestinian regime is a dictatorship that has tight control, “and especially financial issues.”
Veteran Palestinian lawmaker Hanan ‘Ashrawi called on Arafat to end his “one–man show” in the P.A. “As long as he controls the security forces he is breaking the fundamental law,” ‘Ashrawi said in an interview with a Swiss newspaper.