For much of the Palestinian public in the West Bank, the most pressing political issue of the moment is not Israeli plans regarding the legal status of Jewish towns and villages, but recent revelations of corruption and nepotism in Mahmoud Abbas’s government. The scandal has been made worse by the fact that it involves the health ministry, at a time when worry over the coronavirus is high, and trust in public-health officials particularly important. Yoni Ben Menachem writes:
First was the Palestinian aid money stolen by senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, and now a new nepotism scandal is rocking the PA leadership. [Reportedly], Health Minister Mai al-Kaila, . . . a close associate of Abbas, has in recent days appointed several relatives of senior PA officials to senior positions in the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The news of the appointments was leaked on social media. The PA did not deny it, and the rage grew on the Palestinian street, especially since the PA has withheld salaries for tens of thousands of their own workers because of the coronavirus crisis. At the same time, the PA leadership is given generous benefits and large salaries. A wave of denunciations and unrelenting criticism filled social media in the PA on June 23.
The public outrage forced the PA to respond quickly to these new appointments. The PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced at his weekly government meeting on June 22 that a new committee will review all appointments in government offices. . . . The Palestinian street isn’t buying it, however, and does not believe anything will come out of this newly established review committee.
This is one of the reasons Abbas will find it difficult to rally the support of the West Bank citizenry in anticipation of the Israeli extension of sovereignty. He may find that Palestinians are in no hurry to respond to calls by the PA leadership or his Fatah party.
Read more on Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs: https://jcpa.org/nepotism-in-the-palestinian-authority-angers-the-public/