By: Baruch Yedid
The Palestinian Authority (PA) earlier this month hosted an international conference on the fight against corruption, attended by PA head Mahmoud Abbas, ministers, judges, heads of the PA security forces, as well as representatives from Arab states, European governments, the United Nations and human rights institutions and civil society organizations.
The conference, which was held at the Ahmad Shukeiri Hall in Ramallah and lasted for three days, was initiated by the PA’s anti-corruption authority led by Dr. Ahmed Barak, who has recently expanded its activities, especially in the area of terrorist financing.
In the opening speech, Abbas said that the PA does not deny that it is suffering from the scourge of corruption in its government institutions, and it is determined to fight it and therefore established the authority.
Abbas attributed great importance to the fight against corruption and said it was a vital condition for building an independent Palestinian state.
“The three major religions recognize in their scriptures the importance of combating corruption,” he noted.
Barak said that the anti-corruption authority has achieved several milestones since 2010 after it completed a series of legislation in the field, in cooperation with enforcement authorities in European and Arab countries.
Since it was founded, the authority has received 3,949 complaints from residents about corruption, carried out 2,000 investigative and punitive actions, published 40 studies and increased the education and awareness activities among students, and especially among the 150,000 PA officials and civil servants.
The anti-corruption authority is a framework for internal investigations and it probes civil and criminal cases alongside security incidents, and a significant part of its activity is aimed at countering terrorism.
“The fight against Hamas terrorism has recently increased, and we are addressing dozens of companies that are a means of financing terrorism, especially between the Gaza Strip and abroad and the PA territories,” a senior PA official told TPS.
He added that very serious corruption incidents were exposed within the PA and its security services, including those that constitute a breach of national security.
According to the official, the anti-corruption authority is cooperating with international authorities including Interpol, intelligence and police services and with banks and currency funds, and has recently been equipped with advanced computing systems.
A UN representative praised the PA and said its activities are in line with UN development plans in this area.
(TPS)
