Israel is building a security fence in hopes of keeping suicide bombers from turning Jews into ground meat - and it has been working. The number of "martyrs" who have been able to blow themselves up in crowded public places has greatly decreased. Of course, the Palestinians have been screaming bloody murder about it. Maybe as an accompaniment to the bloody murder of suicide bombings. Israel would not be building the barrier, an extremely expensive undertaking, were it not for almost daily terrorist attacks.

  So, what's a Jew to do? When Israel takes military action against terrorists the nations of the world cry foul. So the Israelis try a different tack and begin building a wall to keep the terrorists out - a very non-violent action dontcha' think? Sorry, that's not allowed either; it violates international law, and the UN seconds the motion. It seems the only acceptable defensive move for a Jew is a one-way ticket outta there.

  On the other hand, some Palestinians have been making money hand over fist by, you guessed it, selling cement to Israel with which to build that evil wall. That's right, Palestinian businessmen have made a mint supplying cement for the Israeli fence, Yasser Arafat knew all about.

  This is not some Israeli/Jewish World Conspiracy PR ploy, Palestinian legislators brought this story to light. It seems that the cement was sold with the knowledge of senior officials at the Palestinian ministry of national economy, and close advisers to Mr Arafat. The legislators have concluded that Arafat did nothing to stop the deals although he publicly condemned the structure as a "crime against humanity," and that Palestinian officials were bribed to issue import licences for the cement to importers and businessmen working for Israelis.

  "Wealthy Palestinians with connections at the highest levels have been making millions helping Israel build this wall while Arafat and the Palestinian Authority have been urging people to fight against it," said Mr Khreishe, a council member from the West Bank city of Tulkarm.

  "Why Arafat did nothing about it, we just don't know. These people are traitors who have brought shame on us, and they should be punished."

  An official in Mr Arafat's office said: "We will not comment because this file has been closed and it is now in the hands of the attorney general." Mr. Arafat has apparently learned a thing or two from recent American political history - deny, deny, deny; stall, stall, stall.

  The cement originally came from Egyptian companies which supplied it at a huge discount of 22 dollars per ton to help rebuild dilapidated Palestinian houses or buildings bulldozed by the Israelis.

  Between September 2003 and March 2004, 420,000 tons of cement were sent to three big Palestinian companies. According to the report, however, only 33,000 tons were sold in the Palestinian market. The vast bulk was transported to Israel on trucks owned by the three firms. According to Khreishe, the cement was then sold with a mark-up of at least 15 dollars (possibly as high as 100) a ton, making profits of well over 6 million dollars for company executives.

  The Legislative Council launched an investigation after Egyptian journalists stumbled upon business links between a German Jewish businessman and the Palestinian companies.

  In November of 2003 a letter was sent to Mr Arafat by the Palestinian Authority comptroller, revealing that open-ended import licences for the cement had been signed by Maher al-Masri, the economy minister.

  The Palestinian Authority comptroller asserted in the letter that the cement was destined for the wall.

  The letter was allegedly received and seen by Mr Arafat on the same day that he urged people to demonstrate on the first international "Day against the Wall". According to Mr Khreishe, Mr Arafat took no action to stop further imports, which continued for another five months.

  Ministry officials said that Mr al-Masri was unavailable for comment. The minister was quoted on a Palestinian news website challenging the claims, although he conceded that some cement had been transported to Israeli businessmen. "There is an exaggeration," he said. "The goal is to distort my reputation."

  He said that his own investigative committee found that only 14,500 tons of concrete were transported to Israel. He conceded that two ministry officials carried out some "suspicious administrative violations" in relation to the permits, and that there was not full co-ordination between the economy and finance ministries regarding the cement quota. The ministry had issued permits for 233,000 tons, he said, and had then cancelled permits for 65,000 tons.

  Palestinians claim that the fence is designed to deprive them of a state, and is cutting off Palestinians from their land, schools, doctors and relatives. Maybe so, but that shouldn't prevent an honest businessman from making a buck.

  This is not the first time that profits have taken precedence over Palestine. Much of the land on which Jewish farms were built during the years of Britain's Palestine Mandate was acquired through purchase. Absentee landowners sold their holdings to the Jews, evicted their poor Arab tenants, and absconded to parts unknown with their windfalls. Palestinian refugees were much in evidence long before 1948 and the so-called Naqba (catastrophe). Land sales were brisk despite the fact that sellers were branded as traitors. Rule 56B has been in effect for some time

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