The State of Integrity and Anti-Corruption in Palestine in 2021

- Excerpts from the fourteenth annual report of the "Coalition for integrity and accountability (AMAN), 2021. The fourteenth annual report, on the reality of integrity and combating corruption in Palestine.. Ramallah. Palestine"....

- Among the examples of economic corruption: the report referred to the existence of encroachment on lands owned by the state and on the lands of some absent Palestinian families..!..and the dangerous matter..is the exemption of those influential people who seized these properties before 2010 from the restitution of these properties...!! Why? We are doing this...by legalizing the plundering of public property.!...

- The (AMAN) report for 2021 stated..in the body of the fourteenth annual report. "Influential people seize lands owned by the state by unlawful means: In light of the spread of the phenomenon of encroachments on state lands, which manifested clearly at the Land Authority, the Council of Ministers issued unpublished Decision No. 5/17/232/Mo/Rh dated 1-1-2018, which required the Land Authority to remove encroachments on state lands regardless of their type, and tasked the Ministry of Public Works and Housing with providing the requisites for removing encroachments that occurred after the mentioned date, (and exempted those who obtained state lands before 2010 from the possibility of their restoration)".!!

- The report added: "After the government failed to implement its decision, due to the lack of cooperation from the official parties responsible for law enforcement, such as the governors, some influential people attempted to use their authority to influence the land settlement process by registering some lands owned by the state, or (by some absent Palestinian families), in their names..! , which provoked problems and disputes on the basis of which a committee was formed by the President in 2019 to consider the encroachments on state lands, but the committee did not publish the results of its investigations, or the measures taken to protect state lands and stop the encroachments and seizure of them....!

- He clarified here....clearly...that we are not advocates of spreading pessimism and criticism.....for we are the opposite...advocates and builders...of a state...with immunity from within...that strengthens its resolve and might...and this immunity...becomes a solid basis...to consolidate the bricks of the Palestinian state, to become stronger..and to establish a protective ring from within.....we are not among those who focus on the unfilled part of the public service glass, and the public money...but at the same time...it is extremely necessary to correct the courses of some who violate laws, rules, legislation, and the provisions regulating public service, in all sectors..and who assume responsibility for managing public money....so we see it incumbent upon those responsible for managing public money, for the sake of the public interest...to refrain from violating the rules, laws, and procedures of transparency and integrity..and to refrain from paths of corruption in all its definitions.....and which we see continuous corroborative indications, and incidents and cases that occurred, some of which still remain...from specialists in oversight, auditing, and other community organizations.....their presence here and there..is scattered but harmful, destructive and ruinous......!

- State builders must be reassured...that their fortress is impregnable..and that all efforts, pursuits and aspirations are directed in one direction...on a transparent course and for the public interest..!...And according to this concept, it was incumbent upon us to strengthen the principle of oversight without laxity...and to activate the principle of reward and punishment by the responsible bodies, in a genuine manner..for no one is above the law!....And the incident of the raid on the residence of former President Donald Trump in Florida in recent days by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is nothing but a powerful and reassuring example...of the supremacy of such a principle.. .... despite the strength of the former President Trump's constituency, millions of votes from American Republicans and others...and despite the strength of his personality, his wealth, and the uniqueness of his domineering character!....he nevertheless submitted to the law, accepted the matter, and did what the enforcement of the law and respect for their constitution required...and House Speaker Pelosi said that the search of former President Trump's residence by the federal police...that there is no one in America...above the law!..let us have some of that...! I respect that...despite the United States' abhorrent policies abroad and at home.!

- According to the fourteenth annual report of the Coalition for integrity and accountability (AMAN) for 2021, the report stated that the Anti-Corruption Commission received 886 complaints and reports during 2021, of which 468 complaints focused on the public sector, at a rate of 53%..., while complaints and reports concerning local bodies numbered 299 complaints, at a rate of 34%....and the remaining sectors the rest (civil society and the private sector..and others).

- Among the 886 complaints and reports in 2021 that reached the Anti-Corruption Commission, only 95 of them were referred to the General Directorate for investigation into suspicions of corruption, i.e., approximately 11%....!

- AMAN was unable in 2021 to obtain information from the Public Prosecution in the Gaza Strip, and its requests and attempts were not cooperated with..!!

- The Anti-Corruption Commission referred 45 files to the Public Prosecution during 2021, and it also appears that among 218 files at the Prosecution there are 82 recurring files pertaining to previous years..and the Prosecution completed 63 files and cases, of which it referred 34 files and cases to the Anti-Corruption Crimes Court...!

- Several files and cases were submitted to the Public Prosecution, among them 51 files suspected of comprising corruption crimes in the public sector, followed by local committees and bodies, with 24 files and cases..., and 7 files and cases related to civil society organizations and popular organizations, and companies that provide public services...

- The types of economic crimes related to corruption crimes registered at the Public Prosecution amounting to 171 files and cases varied: of them 71 files and cases under the heading "spoiled and expired food", and 62 files and cases under the heading "tax evasion", and 38 files and cases under the heading money laundering,

- The most prominent corruption charges for the incoming, pending, or adjudicated cases at the Anti-Corruption Crimes Court during 2021 were as follows: negligence in performing official duties, forgery (official or private documents or the use of forged papers), bribery—offering, requesting and accepting—and obtaining personal benefit, breach of trust and misuse of credit and embezzlement and illicit gain and abuse of authority and exploitation of the position....!

- A public opinion survey on the reality of corruption and its combat in 2021 showed that the first sector most exposed to corruption is government institutions 52%, followed by local bodies, and the private sector 16%, then charitable institutions 15%.....The results of the public opinion survey (The Reality of Corruption and Its Combat in Palestine 2021) also showed that 45% of citizens who said they approached public institutions during 2021 to obtain a public service were forced to resort to favoritism to obtain the service...!....We must tighten the noose on corruption..and remove these ugly stains from it..before it becomes an epidemic..that destroys all dreams...!

Date 14-8-2022