Palestinian prisoners (archives)
Photo: AFP
Who stole Palestinian prisoners' money?
Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs allots millions of shekels every year for residents held in Israeli prisons. Ynet learns PA has launched investigation into disappearance of inmates' canteen allowance; senior official arrested
Government corruption – the Palestinian version: The Palestinian Authority has appointed a commission of inquiry into two serious corruption affairs in the Ministry for Prisoner Affairs.
PA officials are in disagreement over how big the affair is and how many people are involved in it. Several sources claimed that the senior official stole nearly NIS 1 million (about $ 253,588), while others spoke of NIS 2 million ($508,052) and more.
A senior ministry official was arrested recently on suspicion of stealing hundreds of thousands of shekels allotted to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The inmates, most of whom are jailed in Nafha Prison in the Negev, were meant to use the money to purchase products at the jail's canteen.
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It appears that the transfer of funds to prisoners held in Israel has led to a series of corruption cases.
The Palestinians are looking into another affair which included the alleged theft of NIS 8 million ($2.03 million) in prisoner funds. This affair took place during the Hamas-led regime, when Israel did not allow the transfer of funds to prisoners held in its jails.
During that period, funds piled up in the Ministry for Prisoner Affairs' treasury were allegedly stolen. Sources in Ramallah said that these two corruption affairs could not have taken place without the involvement of senior PA officials.
Ynet has learned that the PA decided to look into the affair and appointed a commission of inquiry comprised of elements in the Ministry for Prisoner Affairs and the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The committee members include Issa Qaraqi, a parliament member on behalf of Fatah and head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society, the Ministry for Prisoner Affairs' director-general and another senior official.
Following the committee's activity, a senior ministry official was arrested in the Gaza Strip. The man, Mahmous Abu Haseira, who was questioned by the Hamas authorities, is suspected of forging documents in order to transfer the prisoner funds to his bank account. He also bought a luxurious jeep and drove around with it on Gaza's streets.
Senior minister testifies
Among those who testified was Minister for Prisoner Affairs Ashraf al-Ajarmi, who was a former security prisoner himself for 20 years. He told the investigators that his signature was forged in order to allow the transfer of funds of Gaza.
Sources close to the minister said he views the affair as extremely severe and therefore ordered the investigation. The Hamas authorities also probed workers of the Bank of Palestine, who allegedly enabled the fund transfer.
This is a particularly sensitive affair, as the overall prisoners' issue is considered fragile and complicated. In addition, the prisoners tend to complain often that the funds they are meant to received as not transferred to them on time.
The affair has also revealed that large sums of money can be transferred from the West Bank into the Gaza Strip without any supervision.
This affair is joined by another case involving the disappearance of registration documents for the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). The Ministry for Religious Affairs holds a raffle between tens of thousands of Palestinians seeking to travel to Mecca, and the winners are required to fill out special documents.
The PA is now looking into suspicions that thousands of such documents were stolen and sold in the black market.
