Yasser Arafat’s widow, Suha, is expected to receive a sum of $22 million a year out of the Palestinian Authority budget, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere De La Serra.
The paper said Suha reached an agreement about the money during a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO’s newly elected chairman, who visited while she was staying next to her husband’s bed in the French military hospital outside Paris.
It said Abbas personally promised Suha that she would receive $22 million a year to cover her expenses in Paris. The paper noted that in July Arafat transferred to his wife $11 million to cover her living costs for the first six months of the year.
Abbas and the Palestinian leadership were forced to strike the deal with Suha after she refused to allow them to visit her husband in hospital.
The Palestinian leaders reached the conclusion that it would be better to make a deal with her in order to solve the crisis surrounding Arafat’s possessions and secret bank accounts.
According to Palestinian officials, the money that Suha is expected to receive will come from secret accounts held by Arafat and his cronies in various countries. They estimated that at least $4 billion were being held in these secret accounts.
Always count on the Arabs to come to a “buy 'em off” deal Maybe she gave them the bank accounts to Yasser’s hidden billions. Hopefully, they’ll make better use of the money than he did. But I doubt it.
"It said Abbas personally promised Suha that she would receive $22 million a year to cover her expenses in Paris. The paper noted that in July Arafat transferred to his wife $11 million to cover her living costs for the first six months of the year. "
Man, I want that sort of funding.
Sounds like (from the article) that this is dependant on her turning over the secret bank accounts - if they exist.
I question the source though - at the moment, I don’t see this story appearing in any other news source. It might be true, but I want some verification first (just like I would expect with any story).
edit: I am not defending her. I have no idea what she has done for the PA, if there is any secret bank accounts or anything else. I this this is disgraceful if true.
I was always under the impression that she was some sort of a “trophy wife”. She always spent much more time in Paris than in the middle east. Smart woman.
But she never really represented the Palestine people, so she was never very popular with the masses from what I understand.
What a bunch of cheap skates!!! They have 4 billion in the bank, if i were a suicide bomber I would be asking for more than 20k for my family!
On the serious side, what is the percentage of Palestinians that live in extreme poverty? If this news is correct don’t you think that might cause a little up-rising? 22 Million a year is a lot of green.
It does not surprise me one bit that the “Leaders” of the people in the the middle east are extremely wealthy. The wealth does not get distributed very far over there. It might be interesting to see have the Palastinians react to this news. I would guess she will never go back after the funeral.
Maybe she gave them the bank accounts to Yasser’s hidden billions. Hopefully, they’ll make better use of the money than he did. But I doubt it.
