http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=vn20040801121922157C756912
August 01 2004 at 12:19PM
The Palestinian attorney general is looking into claims that local firms sold cement to Israelis building a West Bank barrier that Palestinians condemn as a land grab, a lawmaker said on Saturday.
Hassan Khreisheh said the probe would look into suspicions that some Palestinian Authority officials and ministers have allowed Palestinian companies to make millions by selling 420 000 tons of cement to Israeli firms at high profit.
Khreisheh, who says he received death threats to scare him off the case, said: "The attorney-general has started investigating the file we submitted on selling cement to Israelis that goes into building the wall."
A parliamentary committee found in June that at least four Palestinian companies had sold cement from Egypt to Israeli firms constructing homes in Jewish settlements built on West Bank land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East War.
Other inquiries found that the imported cement was also used to build the barrier which Israel says is needed to keep suicide bombers away from its cities, but which cuts Palestinians off from schools, hospitals, farms, markets and cities.
The investigation was ordered by Palestinian president Yasser Arafat as he comes under increasing pressure to implement administrative reform and crack down on corruption.
Khreisheh said they had videotaped evidence of such activities. "The Palestinian companies bought the cement for $22 (per ton) and sold it to Israeli firms for $100 ... The profits went into their pockets, not the budget," Khreisheh added.
The inquiry had uncovered "a report sent to Arafat dated September 11, 2003, from the Palestinian Authority's auditor Jarrar al-Qidweh which said the cement was used for building the wall," he said.
Israel has built about a third of a planned 600km barrier, much of which zigzags through the West Bank to prevent suicide bombers from infiltrating its cities. Palestinians condemn the barricade as a precursor to Israel annexing land they want for a Palestinian state. - Reuters