Arafat Implicated in Oil-for-Food Scandal?
It seems so, according to this Chicago Tribune story.
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Beginning in the 1960s, the main source of PLO funding was a 5 percent levy on the incomes of Palestinian exiles working mainly in the Arab gulf states. The money was collected by those states and transferred directly to Arafat. At its peak, it amounted to about $200 million a year. But the flow of money dried up after Arafat sided with Saddam Hussein in the 1991 Persian Gulf war.
"The Arab governments stopped collecting those taxes and never started again," Abington said. "After that, Arafat was constantly hard-pressed for money."
Arafat received some help from Hussein, who gave him special export licenses to sell Iraqi oil. Those reportedly were worth $150 million.
__________
Beginning in the 1960s, the main source of PLO funding was a 5 percent levy on the incomes of Palestinian exiles working mainly in the Arab gulf states. The money was collected by those states and transferred directly to Arafat. At its peak, it amounted to about $200 million a year. But the flow of money dried up after Arafat sided with Saddam Hussein in the 1991 Persian Gulf war.
"The Arab governments stopped collecting those taxes and never started again," Abington said. "After that, Arafat was constantly hard-pressed for money."
Arafat received some help from Hussein, who gave him special export licenses to sell Iraqi oil. Those reportedly were worth $150 million.
posted by hellisotherpeople at 4:51 PM
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