Arafat ‘worth $1.3 billion’
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 2002.
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Jerusalem (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has amassed a personal fortune of about $1.3 billion, Israel's military intelligence chief told parliament.
The claim was dismissed Wednesday by Palestinian Authority officials as an Israeli attempt to discredit Arafat.
Living conditions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been getting steadily worse, and Arafat has repeatedly made appeals for international aid.
Arafat maintains a frugal life-style, but has always kept tight control over the multimillion-dollar budgets of the Palestine Liberation Organization and later the Palestinian Authority, with little accountability.
Arafat's unorthodox money management was part of his autocratic leadership style.
