Yasser Arafat is receiving about $7 million a month in Palestinian funds – and most of it is unaccounted for, his official budget shows.
The Palestinian president’s office received a total of roughly $14 million in September and October – roughly 10 percent of all expenses of the Palestinian Authority.
A report from the Palestinian finance ministry said less than $500,000 a month was paid out in salaries to staff of Arafat’s office but the rest was not accounted for.
The disclosure follows a report earlier this month by CBS’s “60 Minutes” that Arafat has been transferring $100,000 a month to his wife Suha, who lives in Paris.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, on a three-day trip to Italy, denied reports of a rift with the Bush administration over Mideast issues.
“There are differences of opinions but this always existed,” he told reporters. “But no government of Israel ever has such close ties with Washington.”
Meanwhile, Israeli officials said the Palestinian who killed two soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint had hidden his assault rifle hidden in a rolled-up Muslim prayer mat.
One of the victims, Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Belski, was off duty and talking to his mother by cell phone when the attacker opened fire. Relatives said she heard three shots and the line went dead. With Post Wire Services