The Palestinian Legislative Council is scheduled to hold a meeting in
Ramallah on Wednesday to discuss the latest scandal in the Palestinian
Authority regarding the import of cement from Egypt. Members of the
committee visited Jordan and Egypt to collect evidence and other
documents related to the case.
One of them said an initial investigation has shown that senior PA
officials were involved in the case. The scandal erupted following
reports in the Egyptian media last November that cement imported from
Egypt by two Palestinian companies went to Israeli contractors building
Jewish settlements and the security fence.
The report said ownership of 8654t of cement imported from the Bani Suef
Cement Company in Egypt by the Tarifi Ready Concrete Company in Ramallah
and another 24,118t imported by Al-Barakeh in Gaza City had been
transferred to an Israeli importer.
The report said there was no evidence that the cement went to the West
Bank or Gaza Strip. The Tarifi company is owned by PA Civilian Affairs
Minister Jamil Tarifi.
The PA Ministry of National Economy has asked the Egyptian company to
stop all exports of cement to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying it
had revoked the import license of the Palestinian companies.
