Arab contractors and P.A. government ministers are allegedly making a profit from the building of Israel’s separation fence.
According to reports from P.A. newspapers Al-Ayyam and Al Hayat al-Jadida, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) has called for a criminal investigation into allegations that Arab companies have been importing cement from Egypt on behalf of Israeli contractors. The Egyptian cement is then used to build parts of the separation fence, as well as new houses in Jewish communities in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza).
In an intense debate in the Palestinian Legislative Council, Palestinian Authority National Economic Minister Maher Masri was accused of negligence and wrongdoing in what was termed “the cement scandal,” according to Access Middle East.
Thirteen members of the PLC voted in favor of a bill holding Masri responsible for the ‘scandal’, with six voting against it. Some legislators called for putting the minister and other top PA officials on trial.
The episode began last November after reports surfaced in Egyptian newspapers that two Egyptian cement companies were exporting material to Israeli firms through P.A. businessmen. According to the reports, the cement was going to Israeli construction companies building the separation fence and new homes in Yesha.
The Al-Quds Cement Factory in Abu Dis, in eastern Jerusalem, has also been accused of supplying material for the construction of the fence and Jewish communities in Yesha. That factory is co-owned by the family of the PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.
Jerusalem's Grand Mufti, Ikrima Sabri, issued a fatwa (Islamic edict) forbidding Muslims from helping Israel to construct the separation fence, branded anyone who did so a ‘traitor’.
The topic of the Friday Islamic speech given on the Temple Mount was a hysterical condemnation of anyone involved in the building of the fence. "Anyone who helps construct this damned, racist wall, or supplies material for building it is a sinner... a traitor, and should be shunned, or made to leave our country," said Sheikh Tayseer al-Tamimi, who gave the sermon.
According to reports from P.A. newspapers Al-Ayyam and Al Hayat al-Jadida, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) has called for a criminal investigation into allegations that Arab companies have been importing cement from Egypt on behalf of Israeli contractors. The Egyptian cement is then used to build parts of the separation fence, as well as new houses in Jewish communities in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza).
In an intense debate in the Palestinian Legislative Council, Palestinian Authority National Economic Minister Maher Masri was accused of negligence and wrongdoing in what was termed “the cement scandal,” according to Access Middle East.
Thirteen members of the PLC voted in favor of a bill holding Masri responsible for the ‘scandal’, with six voting against it. Some legislators called for putting the minister and other top PA officials on trial.
The episode began last November after reports surfaced in Egyptian newspapers that two Egyptian cement companies were exporting material to Israeli firms through P.A. businessmen. According to the reports, the cement was going to Israeli construction companies building the separation fence and new homes in Yesha.
The Al-Quds Cement Factory in Abu Dis, in eastern Jerusalem, has also been accused of supplying material for the construction of the fence and Jewish communities in Yesha. That factory is co-owned by the family of the PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.
Jerusalem's Grand Mufti, Ikrima Sabri, issued a fatwa (Islamic edict) forbidding Muslims from helping Israel to construct the separation fence, branded anyone who did so a ‘traitor’.
The topic of the Friday Islamic speech given on the Temple Mount was a hysterical condemnation of anyone involved in the building of the fence. "Anyone who helps construct this damned, racist wall, or supplies material for building it is a sinner... a traitor, and should be shunned, or made to leave our country," said Sheikh Tayseer al-Tamimi, who gave the sermon.