A former Palestinian Authority (PA) intelligence chief issued a rare and direct public challenge to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, accusing the PA leadership of enabling widespread, systemic corruption throughout its institutions, AFP reported.
In an open letter, Tawfiq al‑Tirawi, 77, said he had repeatedly warned Abbas about cases of graft but received no response.
“The corruption system now operates with confidence and immunity," wrote Tirawi, a senior member of the Fatah Central Committee led by Abbas, whose mandate as PA chairman expired in 2009.
Tirawi alleged that businesses and individuals were involved in seizing public and private lands and assets, describing what he called a “moral and ethical collapse" inside PA institutions. He further accused Abbas’s aides, many of whom are decades younger than the PA chairman, of “deliberately hiding the truth" from him.
After consulting with other senior Fatah figures, Tirawi said he decided to go public, warning that if the situation continues he will reveal specific corruption cases to the media.
“Did our people make all these sacrifices - martyrs, prisoners and wounded - only for us to reach a stage where thieves and land brokers are left to spread corruption without deterrence or accountability?" he wrote.
Accusations of corruption in the PA date back to at least 2011, when several PA cabinet officials were indicted as part of a probe.
This past October, Tareq Zou’rob, the PA official in charge of transportation, was dismissed amid corruption suspicions.
Palestinian Arab news outlet Sama reported that the suspicions against Zou’rob include “granting licenses and approvals in violation of official procedures."
In a separate case, Nazmi Muhanna, head of the Palestinian Crossings Authority, was also removed from his post after becoming wanted on corruption suspicions.