Khaberni - A Palestinian Fatah leader raised the issue of the PLO's properties and the sale of two thousand properties under the supervision of Yasser Mahmoud Abbas, son of the head of the Ramallah Authority.
Former Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ashraf Dabour, exploded the issue related to the sale of Palestinian Liberation Organization properties, estimating the number of these properties at about two thousand, and added that he was offered a bribe of $500,000.
In turn, Fatah leader Samih Khalaf stated that the committee leading the process of inventory and sale of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian people's properties is headed by Yasser Mahmoud Abbas, and his special advisor in the Lebanese arena.
He continued that several reports were recently issued by media agencies and human rights institutions addressing the poor management of the financial situation in the Palestinian Authority, in addition to what he described as the gross enrichment of President Mahmoud Abbas's sons.
He mentioned that Yasser Mahmoud Abbas, the son of President Mahmoud Abbas, owns a large fortune formed through a network of commercial activities that began since the mid-1990s.
He clarified that this fortune, according to reports, is concentrated in a group of holding companies and multiple branches operating in various sectors, notably construction, insurance, telecommunications, electricity, and the monopoly of selling foreign cigarettes in the West Bank.
He indicated that these companies are known as a company in Jordan.
He continued, Samih Khalaf mentioned that companies associated with Yasser Abbas are linked to contracts financed by American international aid and public funds, including projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development.
He added that these data raise questions about the nature of the relationship between private commercial activity and publicly funded projects, and the limits of potential conflicts of interest.
In another context, Khalaf continued that recent reports have linked these issues to the file of the Palestinian Liberation Organization properties in Lebanon, which was raised by Ambassador Ashraf Dabour, where Yasser Abbas was appointed to head a committee to inventory these properties and manage them.
He emphasized that these properties are the properties of the Palestinian people and should not be disposed of.
He explained that the reports indicate that the file includes approximately two thousand properties in Beirut and its suburbs and southern Lebanon, which are real estate assets of high financial value.
Khalaf added: “I want to note here that many properties have been disposed of, and there are still other properties that can be disposed of in various places in Europe, in the Arab region, in Jordan, and in Syria.”
He continued that there are many properties that no one knows how they are being managed, and there are no regulatory or accounting bodies that announce or audit this money or investments, even though they constitute national capital.
He explained that sources indicate that a number of these properties are registered in the names of individuals and not officially in the name of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which raises legal and financial issues.
He added that some reports included accusations of selling organization-owned properties at prices lower than their market value, despite official objections from Ambassador Ashraf Dabour on this matter.
He pointed out that these facts, as reported in the reports, raise broad questions about transparency and public financial management in the Palestinian Authority, and the possibility of mixing political influence, which Yasser Abbas has as the son of the head of the Authority and head of the Liberation Organization, with private economic interests.
He confirmed that these issues, as reported in the media, are still a subject of public debate and open questions in the absence of decisive official clarifications that would definitively close this file.
Khalaf questioned the role of the General Control Authority and the Movement Control Authority, noting that there are questions that must be raised before the public opinion in the absence of institutions for control and combating corruption in the Palestinian Authority.
He added that this comes in light of the dissolution of the Palestinian Legislative Council by a decision of Mahmoud Abbas, and the absence of the executive institutions of the Liberation Organization, its Central Council, the centralization of Fatah movement, and its Revolutionary Council.
He continued, wondering: If this wealth resulted from private work, why is it concentrated in monopolistic sectors and government projects funded by public money?
He said that Yasser Abbas monopolizes, according to his description, the nerve of the Palestinian commercial and real estate economy in the West Bank.
He quoted an economic expert saying that the Palestinian Authority does not suffer from a crisis in its balances, and that the taxes imposed on cigarettes alone can cover the salaries of employees.
Khalaf wondered: How did companies associated with him obtain international aid contracts without a clear announcement of competitive mechanisms and prevention of conflicts of interest?
He added: “Where are the numbers? Where are the numbers of these companies? Where are their inventories? Where are their profits? Where do they go? And where are their balances kept?”
He pointed to the lack of declared bank balances and transparent data on profits or capital.
He also questioned why the management of the file of the Liberation Organization's properties in Lebanon was assigned to a person who is directly related to the political leadership, and is the son of the head of the Authority.
He added: How is a file that includes about two thousand properties managed without publishing their values or selling them publicly, and without subjecting them to regulatory or accounting bodies in the Palestinian Authority? And what is the fate of its returns?
He concluded: If all procedures are legal, then why this ambiguity in these files? And why aren't they fully opened to the public? He confirmed that what he raises are not accusations but questions for public opinion.
