Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:28am EDT
By Adam Entous
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Firms run by sons of President Mahmoud Abbas won U.S. government aid contracts to repair roads -- and America's image -- in the Palestinian territories, previously undisclosed documents show.
A review by Reuters of internal U.S. government records about aid programs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip found that construction and public relations firms managed by Tarek Abbas and Yasser Mahmoud Abbas received over $2 million in contracts and subcontracts since 2005, when their father became president.
Other ventures backed by President Abbas's allies have received loan guarantees, grants and agricultural assistance, the review showed. But U.S. agencies would not disclose the identities of all of the Palestinian firms which have been awarded contracts, grants or guarantees.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said Yasser Abbas's Falcon Electro Mechanical Contracting Company and Sky Advertising Company, where Tarek Abbas is general manager, won the contracts through "full and open" competitive bidding.
Family ties were not a consideration, the U.S. agency said.
Likewise, Kareem Shehadeh, a lawyer for Abbas's sons, told Reuters their ties to the president were not a factor, calling any suggestion of favoritism "unethical and baseless."
U.S. support for President Abbas, including hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Palestinians, and the business dealings of his sons and closest advisers are sensitive issues in the Palestinian territories, where joblessness more than doubled after the outbreak of a Palestinian uprising in 2000.
The sensitivity, and the secrecy, surrounding Washington's role in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has only been heightened by Abbas's power struggle with the Hamas Islamist group, shunned by Washington as a terrorist organization.
Hamas won a Palestinian election three years ago in part by tapping into popular anger over allegations of corruption and favoritism under Abbas's long-dominant Fatah faction and predecessor as president, Yasser Arafat.
INFORMATION
Reuters has no information suggesting wrongdoing by anyone involved in the USAID contracts. Diplomats said USAID's delay in releasing information requested by Reuters under the Freedom of Information Act may suggest a degree of political embarrassment.
Reuters obtained copies of USAID's two prime contracts with Falcon and Sky but the agency redacted the names of company officials and employees listed on the contracting documents.
In doing so, USAID, which says it is a leader in promoting transparency, cited confidentiality and security concerns.
Dozens of other documents obtained by Reuters detailed how USAID, ahead of the 2006 election, funded projects to promote Abbas's administration without disclosing its role. A 2007 U.S. "fact sheet" described a post-election strategy of providing "targeted, discreet support to emerging leaders, independent media, and selected civil society efforts."
Watchdog groups questioned USAID's level of transparency. Continued...
Abu Mazen's Son: A Self-made Crook
Source
Abu Mazen's son, the well-known crook Yasir (named after Yasir `Arafat before he labeled Abu Mazen as the "Hamid Karzai of Palestine") talks to Al-Arabiyya TV.He said that he collaborates with Israel because everybody collabroates with Israel "except those who live "on rain".
He admittd that he is a millionaire but denies that he is a crook ("I am not a crook" he almost said) and said that he collected his fortune with his "sweats."
He said that 25% of his business goes to the Palestinian Authority. He said that he started his company with a "modest capital." He said that he hit it big with Falcon Tobacco which became the official distributor of American cigarettes. (thanks George)
Posted by As'ad at 8:16 AM
Where is Abu Mazen?
A reader in the UAE sent me this message and picture: "You wanted to know where is Abu Mazen and his lot (specially that they disappeared from the Durban Summit). Well, he was yesterday in Abu Dhabi, visiting the real estate and property investment exhibition, City Scape 2009. I’m sure that following up his investments (along with his mob, which included Nabeel Abu Rdaineh, Saaib Oraiqat, and others) as seen attached. Sorry for the hazy picture!" (thanks Haitham)
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