Arafat Funnels Palestinian Funds to Israeli VC Firm
You have to scroll a ways down to the second item in this from the San Jose Mercury News, but it's worth it. While the Palestinian people live in Third World conditions, their "leader" is funneling their money into Silicon Valley start-ups, via two Israeli venture capital firms. And some of Saddam Hussein's millions may have gone there too.

Strange twist, but Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has invested his people's money in Israeli and U.S. venture capital firms, among others.

Arafat, on behalf of the Palestinian people, has invested $8 million in Israeli venture fund Evergreen III and $4.6 million in Menlo Park's Canaan Partners, according to published reports from the Palestine Investment Fund. Canaan has invested in several Bay Area start-ups, including AlterEgo, Aperto, E-stamp and ONI.

Most of the money in the Palestine Investment Fund comes from taxes collected by the Palestine Authority and is part of Arafat's estimated $1 billion to $3 billion treasury, according to a recent report by CBS' "60 Minutes.'' The fund, which also invested in a Coke bottling plant in Palestine, was closely controlled by Arafat until this year, when Palestine Finance Minister Salam Fayad and Standard & Poor's began investigating and published the portfolio.

"60 Minutes'' made a connection between the fund and gifts from Saddam Hussein, the KGB and the Saudis. It said, for example, that the former Palestine treasurer told CBS that he saw Saddam hand Arafat a $50 million check for supporting him during the first gulf war.

Bizarre.