Arafat Is Primarily Responsible for the Corruption and Chaos

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Many of those calling for reform, particularly from within the Fatah movement, appeal to Mr. Arafat about the need to fight corruption. All such appeals are cast to the wind, because Arafat will never take a single reformist step except as camouflage. What is happening now in the territory occupied in [19]67 is simply an extension of the policy Arafat pursued in Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia — a policy that seeks out the failed and the corrupt in order to hand them positions of responsibility. The goal, whether consciously or not, is to weaken the Palestinian people and tear apart their ranks, so as to arrive at solutions that fit the Israeli position. Nor have the Zionists and the Americans, across decades, ever failed to take the appropriate steps — such as the siege and the charge of terrorism — to prop up Mr. Arafat’s heroic, patriotic image, an image no wind can shake.

I appeal to our people, and to the brothers of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in particular, to insist on change — but without letting the homeland fall into a chaos whose price we will all end up paying. We must confront the bitter truth openly, instead of continuing to whisper it only in our private gatherings: that for more than thirty years, the Palestinian people have fallen victim to internal policies that were anything but innocent. And if we continue to use the language of “the Symbol,” “the First Teacher,” and “the Greatest Mujahid,” then we are deceiving no one but ourselves.

This corruption present in Palestine is deliberate and premeditated. There is no president who does not err in his judgment of one or two of his aides — but our president errs in the overwhelming majority of them. Whoever is proven corrupt gets promoted, and whoever is proven honest gets pushed out. Why?

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “عرفات هو المسؤول الأول عن الفساد والفوضى” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.