Palestinian National Authority

Finances

Use of European Union assistance

In February 2004, it was reported that the European Union (EU) anti-fraud office (OLAF) is studying documents suggesting that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority diverted tens of millions of dollars in EU funds to organizations involved in terrorist attacks, such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. A provisional assessment released in August 2004 said that "To date, there is no evidence that funds from the non-targeted EU Direct Budget Assistance to the Palestinian Authority have been used to finance illegal activities, including terrorism."

Related Topics:
European Union - OLAF - Yasser Arafat - Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades

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A separate EU "Working Group" has issued a report in April 2004, adopted by a 7-6 vote, which covers the period from the end of 2000 to the end of 2002, states that EU aid has not been siphoned off to Palestinian militants carrying out attacks on Israelis: "There is no conclusive evidence, to date, that the EU non-targeted direct budgetary support was used to finance illegal activities, including the financing of terrorism".

Related Topics:
2000 - 2002

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The EU has changed the way it funded the Palestinians and now targeted aid for specific purposes. From April 2003, money is only handed over if various conditions are met, such as the presentation of invoices for bills the Palestinians need to pay. The EU remains the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority.

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Payments to militants in prison

On July 22, 2004, Salam Fayyad Minister of Finance of the Palestinian Authority in an article in the Palestinian weekly, The Jerusalem Times, detailed the following payments to Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli authorities:

Related Topics:
July 22 - 2004 - Israel

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:1. Prisoner allowances increased between June 2002 and June 2004 to $9.6m monthly, an increase of 246 percent compared with January 1995-June 2002.

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:2. Between June 2002 and June 2004, 77 million shekels were delivered to prisoners, compared to 121 million between January 1995 and June 2002, which is an increase of 16 million shekels yearly. The increase of annual spending between the two periods registers 450 percent, which is much higher than the percentage of increase of the number of prisoners.

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:3. Between 2002 and 2004, the PNA paid 22 million shekels to cover other expenses — lawyers’ fees, fines, and allocations for released prisoners. This includes lawyers’ fees paid directly by the PNA and fees paid through the Prisoners Club.

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