Fahmi Shabana and the Evidence of Corruption

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The moment Fahmi Shabana appeared on a Zionist television channel to lay out some of his evidence of corruption among elements of the Palestinian Authority, a broad campaign was launched against him, claiming he was nothing but an agent of the Zionists working to smear those who describe themselves as revolutionaries and freedom fighters. For years, Shabana worked with the Authority in various posts, but he only became “an agent of the enemies” after he exploded in the face of corruption.

Let me begin by pointing out that Mr. Shabana is not himself innocent, because he is among the supporters of the Oslo Accord and the agreements that sprang from it, including security coordination with Israel. It is well known that the Oslo Accord constitutes a serious infringement on the fixed national rights of the Palestinian people, that it contravenes all the Palestinian charters and resolutions that the Palestinian people had generally rallied around, and that it makes it easier for Israel to continue its traditional policies, such as confiscating land, building settlements, and Judaizing Jerusalem. Mr. Shabana worked with security agencies that coordinate with Israel on security matters, and headed an important apparatus; it is well known that Israel vets the people who work in or with the Palestinian security agencies, and quietly approves, without announcement, appointments to important posts within the Authority.

I also point out that the matter of violations and thievery that Mr. Shabana raised is not confined to one person here or there, but is rather a pattern that has existed within Palestinian ranks since 1970. Such behaviors became a Palestinian phenomenon in Beirut, in Tunis, and in the Palestinian territories after the Authority arrived, and they occurred continuously without investigation, accountability, or deterrent. Indeed, many of those engaged in this deviant behavior, once caught in one way or another, were rewarded or promoted instead. The various reactions of Palestinian officials to conduct harmful to the Palestinian people indicate, and confirm, that there was an intent to tarnish the image of the Palestinian people and to negatively affect their struggle to recover their rights.

The third point I consider important on this subject concerns the type of people required to implement the Oslo Accord and its consequences. Since the agreement infringes on the national rights of the Palestinian people, those who hold fast to these rights and to morals and national values are unsuited to this task. In other words, Oslo cannot be implemented without corrupt people who adopt corruption as a method that fragments the social fabric of the Palestinian people and lowers its moral level. This is why the West, especially the United States and Israel, kept silent about the squandering of Palestinian funds, and gave the corrupt free rein to tamper with society however they pleased. Naturally, the West, together with the Zionist entity, prefers that the leader be a Freemason, even if only under a false moral and professional veneer, because the Freemason is convinced that peace in the world will not be achieved until Solomon’s Temple is rebuilt.

The Shabana Controversy

The announcement of Shabana’s evidence was not surprising, because the story had been circulating for quite some time, spoken of by tongues the length of the country, from Naqoura to Rafah. His evidence can be summarized as follows:

There is documentation he presented before the public, consisting of video footage, or paper documents, concerning cases of theft;

Shabana did not publish his story until he had exhausted every other avenue with Authority officials to get them to take action;

Mr. Shabana was patient for a long period of time, searching for Palestinian accountability, but no ears would listen to him;

Mr. Shabana constitutes an authoritative reference on matters of Authority corruption because he is the head of the anti-corruption apparatus — a fact reinforced by his being from inside the Authority, not outside it.

Appearing on an Israeli Television Screen

I am against media normalization, and I am not prepared to appear on Zionist television screens, but we all know that Palestinian fighters against Israel have, on occasion, been forced to take refuge in Israel to escape the fire of their Arab or Palestinian brethren. Shabana must have thought long and hard about the matter, weighing the importance of publishing against the harms of publishing via Zionist television, or the benefits of taking advantage of Israeli media freedom.

There is no one within the Arab media prepared to publish the documents Shabana presented, for several reasons, foremost among them the absence of media freedom and internal Arab relations. No official channels possess the courage to publish such documents, nor do unofficial or private channels. The general Arab condition, marked by tyranny and charlatanism, is what pushed him toward Israeli media. And if Palestinian or Arab media wish to blame him for this, they must first open the field to him for publication.

Pillars of the Palestinian Authority and many Palestinian intellectuals have made a habit, over many long years, of dealing with Zionist media outlets — are these people traitors? The standards of treason must be uniform, and must not be dispensed according to mood, personal interest, or partisan interest. If Shabana is a traitor because he dealt with a Zionist media outlet, then everyone who deals with Zionist outlets is a traitor.

Cooperation with Zionist Intelligence

Some say Shabana cooperated with Zionist intelligence to publish his false, doctored information, and that intelligence facilitated his appearance on Zionist Channel 10. Based on my tracking of the work of Israeli intelligence, it does not operate this way; rather, it always tries to entrap Arab and Palestinian individuals, largely through women, and then blackmails them into working for it and according to its aims. Israeli intelligence does not normally go to the media; instead, it summons the person concerned and presents him with documents about his downfall, and blackmails him. This is why we see many Palestinians who have risen to leadership positions working deliberately and with premeditation against Palestinian interests.

…directly. The Israeli media enjoy independence, and sometimes publish scandals involving Arabs and Palestinians.

Then again, does someone who coordinates on security matters with the Israeli security agencies have the right to accuse people of treason?

The Exposer and the Exposed

The one at fault in Palestine is whoever speaks out against corruption, not the corrupt one; whoever exposes criminals, not the criminal; whoever exposes the fallen, not the one who fell. Who is the criminal: the one who steals a million dollars, or the one who says he stole it? Of course, the one who says it, not the thief. Standards in Palestine, as in other Arab countries, are turned completely upside down; if we in Palestine are to expose someone, it is a weak person who stole a hundred dollars, or who lusted after an animal.

Advisers abound for whoever works to expose the fallen or the corrupt, telling him that the method of public exposure is wrong, and that a person ought to follow civilized, professional methods instead. In the end, the issue gets lost in the search for the exposer’s mistakes rather than in what the exposed party actually did. It is also notable that Palestinian media do not mention names when speaking of violations or accusations, and the presenter usually asks that no names be given. The reason is clear: exposing one person will lead to exposing another, and things will eventually reach the presenter himself, either through his own exposure or his dismissal from his job. Yet it is known worldwide that public discussion in the media, and interviews with both accuser and accused, constitute a great deterrent for those tempted to commit disgraceful acts.

The defense of the exposed party in Palestine is fierce, and many forces quickly rush to defend him. The media rush to his defense, as do politicians and intellectuals, Arab media outlets, electronic websites, and so on. In Shabana’s case, we notice the extent of the attack he has faced, while noticing how few defend him, or how few call for the matter to be handled professionally. Why this mobilization in favor of the corrupt or those accused of corruption? The matter is simple: most Palestinian officials and media outlets are implicated in corruption in one way or another, and if accountability were to take its course, many big heads would fall, and their reputations would be dragged through the mud. Better to bury the scandals.

There is also fear among officials of holding anyone accountable, because accountability might open many files that reach the heads of those doing the holding-to-account. Better, then, not to hold anyone accountable at all. We had a custom not long ago: killing the person who becomes a burden to the leader, or removing him from responsibility in a disgraceful way that does no harm to the leader.

Mr. Shabana’s “Collaboration”

We have grown accustomed to the Palestinian Authority branding its critics as agents and traitors for criticizing its symbols and policies. This despite the fact that it has, ever since signing the Oslo Accord, been careful to attack those who accuse it of treason and who use the word “treason” against it. A person can be a friend, a confidant, or a loved one — until he directs public criticism at it, whereupon he becomes an agent of Israel and a traitor, or an agent of Iran and Syria, and perhaps even of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Now Shabana faces the charge of treason because he appeared on Zionist television, which, according to the propaganda of the Authority’s supporters, means prior coordination with the Zionist security services.

Shabana has worked within the Palestinian Authority for a long time, and, according to what he himself has written, he received his salary for January 2010. So why does the Palestinian Authority continue to pay his salary if he is an agent of Israel? To begin with, Mr. Authority, you signed agreements that prohibit the pursuit of agents and spies, and committed yourselves to pursuing “terrorism” and “terrorists” instead. Had Shabana been a direct spy for Israeli intelligence, he would not have been the first to publish the documents in his possession, nor would you have attacked him in this manner. Shabana’s security problem, like that of many others, is that he does not know the full extent of the commitment to Israeli security that the agreements bind Palestinians to.

If Shabana is an agent, and the Authority is against collaboration with Israel, then why did it not discover the matter of Shabana until the very day he announced the documents in his possession on Zionist television? Praise be to God — how inspiration came to the Authority on that very day! If Shabana is an agent, and the Authority considers collaboration to be treason, then whoever embraced him and appointed him head of the anti-corruption file must also be held accountable.

Confronting the Truth

The proper conduct in cases like this is to form a neutral investigative committee, not one drawn from the Authority, to examine the matter from every angle, and then to issue findings and recommendations. The courageous man is the one who confronts the crisis and works to address it scientifically, whereas a reckless reaction leads only to more problems and worries. Counter-accusations serve no purpose and express nothing but impotence; the soundness of societies ultimately depends on the soundness of procedures and on the search for truth and right.

It is clear from the Palestinian Authority’s reaction that it is in a weak position, trying to escape the matter by condemning Shabana and heaping accusations and insults upon him. Indeed, there is something in its own position that condemns the very person it wishes to defend, since its defense is emotional and reckless. There are corruption cases on the table right now — do we curse whoever raises them, or do we look into the charges themselves?

Unfortunately, a wretched culture has developed in Palestine, one built on the exploitation of influence. To illustrate this, let me offer just the following example:

There were two employees of Palestinian agencies standing near me outside the walls of An-Najah National University. One said to the other: “Look how beautiful that student is.” The other replied: “Let’s hire her so we can amuse ourselves with her.”

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “فهمي شبانة وبينات الفساد” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.