Former Arafat aide: He purchased arms with Israeli money
Former PA security funds manager Fuad Shubaki says during interrogation that PA funded terrorist cells that operated against Israel; also revealed: Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hizbullah coordinated Karine A arms ship with senior PA senior
Former PA chairman Yasser Arafat purchased arms worth millions of dollars transferred to the PA by Israel and the international community, an interrogation of a PA security funds manager, Fuad Shubaki, has found.
Shubaki was taken for questioning by the Shin Bet on March 14 after being apprehended in an IDF operation in the Jericho prison, where he was imprisoned under international supervision since May 2002.
Raid on Jericho prison (Photo: AP)
In his interrogation Shubaki admitted that money received by Israel was used by the PA to fund terrorist cells which operated against Israel. He also admitted that under Arafat's instructions, the Palestinian Authority was involved in smuggling and producing weapons, and funding terrorist cells which operated against Israel.
According to Shubaki, with the outbreak of the intifada in 2000, he received an order from Arafat to purchase the largest possible quantity of weapons from different sources.
'Iran offered military aid'
Under Arafat's orders, all of the heads of the various PA bodies began purchasing weapons, and a special body was set up to coordinate the effort. PA representatives were placed in a number of countries abroad where they operated as branches for the arms purchasing.
Senior PA members would give Shubaki tips for purchasing weapons, and he passed them on for approval from Arafat. Shubaki himself funded the purchasing of weapons, and after receiving approval from Arafat, senior PA members in Gaza purchased large quantities of weapons. During his interrogation, Shubaki said that Jibril Rajoub (head of the PA Preventative Security Force in Gaza) was among the top figures to receive funding to purchase weapons.
Shubaki also said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hizbullah were behind the Karine A weapons ship intercepted by Israel in January 2002. The Iranians and Hizbullah coordinated the arms ship with senior members of the Palestinian Authority, he said.
Iranian envoys, who Shubaki met in 2001, also offered military aid to the PA, including sites to produce weapons, technology to produce arms, and military training.
