Did Arafat embezzle?
The week's news at a glance.
Paris
French prosecutors are investigating the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat over allegations of money laundering. Suha Arafat, who lives in Paris with her daughter, has come under scrutiny because of her lavish lifestyle. During a wide-ranging investigation into the possible misuse of Palestinian Authority funds, police discovered that $11 million had been transferred to her bank account from a Swiss bank. Mrs. Arafat said the money was legitimate. “What’s strange in the fact that a husband should send money to his wife abroad?” she asked. The Palestinian Authority has received some $5.5 billion in foreign aid, mostly from the European Union, since Yasser Arafat returned to Gaza 10 years ago. An International Monetary Fund audit found that close to $1 billion could not be accounted for.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why Rikers Island will no longer be under New York City's control
The Explainer A 'remediation manager' has been appointed to run the infamous jail
-
California may pull health care from eligible undocumented migrants
IN THE SPOTLIGHT After pushing for universal health care for all Californians regardless of immigration status, Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest budget proposal backs away from a key campaign promise
-
Is Apple breaking up with Google?
Today's Big Question Google is the default search engine in the Safari browser. The emergence of artificial intelligence could change that.