Well you can knock me over with a feather

It looks like Yasser Arafat was a corrupt dictator who skimmed money from his own people. I never would have guessed. From the NY Post (by way of Time magazine): “Arafat got paid at the pump”:

Yasser Arafat reportedly skimmed $2 million a month from the gasoline trade in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

The skimming was uncovered by U.S. accountants after international donors forced Arafat to sign over his holdings to a Palestine investment fund in August 2002, Time magazine reports.

Halting the practice — and other corruption in the gasoline trade — boosted the Palestine Authority's treasury by $10 million a month and cut gas prices for ordinary Palestinians.

Time also says that after scouring Arab companies and bank accounts in the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg, the U.S. auditors identified $800 million in Arafat holdings.

And be sure to read Charles Krauthammer’s article in today’s WashPost: “Arafat’s Legacy.”