Arafat confidant, a religious judge, is charged in sex scandal

Thursday, November 18, 1999

RAMALLAH -- A leading Palestinian Authority religious judge is being investigated on whether he conducted an affair with a Hebron girl, Palestinian sources said.

The sources said the PA Preventive Security Apparatus in the West Bank is investigating allegations that the head of the West Bank religious courts, Sheik Tayseer Tamimi, is conducting an affair with a young women. Tamimi, 50, has told PA security agents that he wants the girl for his third wife.

The girl reported the affair to PA security agencies after she doubted the sincerity of Tamimi, the sources said. Tamimi is regarded as one of the closest confidants of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat.

The sources said the PA taped a telephone call between Tamimi and the girl. A few days later, the sheik was summoned to an interrogation. At first, he denied any relations with the girl, but confessed to wanting to marry her after the tapes were played.

Tamimi, the sources said, appealed to the PA security service not to tell Arafat and pledged to resign in January. He offered 15,000 Jordanian dinars [$22,000] to drop the issue.

The sources said Arafat learned of the incident and banned Tamimi from visiting the PA chairman.