New controversy over Israel wall

By Ramit Plushnick-Masti
The Associated Press

	Ahmed Qureia
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JERUSALEM — A Palestinian parliamentary committee is investigating whether Palestinian cement companies are providing Israel with material for a controversial West Bank barrier and have been selling cement to Jewish settlements.

A Palestinian lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said yesterday there is evidence that a company owned by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's family is among them. But other lawmakers said Qureia was not part of the investigation.

Israel's Channel 10 TV also reported that Al-Quds Cement — owned by Qureia's family — has been providing materials to help build the barrier, allegations Palestinian officials denied.

The TV report said Qureia was providing the cement to build the concrete slabs outside his house in Abu Dis, a town near Jerusalem divided by a 25-foot wall.

	ENRIC MARTI / AP A Palestinian boy rides a horse next to a section of the barrier Israel is building to separate the outskirts of Jerusalem from the West Bank, in the village of Abu Dis.

Television footage also showed cement mixers leaving the Al-Quds company and driving to the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, just a few miles away.

The lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was "evidence" that Al-Quds was selling cement to Maale Adumim. He said Qureia transferred ownership of the company to another member of his family a few months ago.

The lawmaker said this strengthened suspicions that Qureia was involved in improper activities.

The Palestinian premier was in Rome and unavailable for comment.

Qureia is one of the most vocal opponents of Jewish settlements and the barrier, and he is leading a Palestinian effort to garner global support for the Palestinian position.

Israel says the barrier is needed to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from entering the country. But the structure dips into the West Bank in some areas, and Palestinians have condemned it as a land grab.

Palestinian lawmaker Jamal Shati, a member of a parliamentary committee that is going to Jordan and Egypt tomorrow to investigate whether Palestinian cement companies are providing Israel with material for the barrier, denied Qureia was part of the investigation.

"But when we open the issue of the concrete it will include everything, not only the wall but also the settlements, because building the settlements is the same as building the wall. There is no difference," Shati said. "This is a very dangerous national issue. This is something that belongs to the core of the Palestinian cause."

Lawmaker Hassan Khreishe, who is also on the inquiry committee, denied the team was investigating Qureia.

Khreishe said the committee was investigating allegations — which originated in an Egyptian newspaper report published in November — that three Palestinian cement companies had illegally imported cement from Egypt and sold it to an Israeli businessman.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Jamil Tarifi is among those being investigated, said Palestinian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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