Abbas aide suspended over sex scandal

Rafiq Husseini says that he is a victim of an Israeli conspiracy.

rafiq husseini (photo credit: Associated Press)
rafiq husseini
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended one of his top aides under investigation for allegations of being involved in a sex scandal.
Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, said on Sunday that a three-member committee will check out the conduct of Rafiq Husseini, accused by a former Palestinian intelligence official of seeking to trade influence for sex.
Footage of Husseini undressing, getting into bed and calling a woman to join him were broadcast on Israeli TV last week, sending shock waves through conservative Palestinian society.
The report said Husseini will be suspended until the committee announces its findings in three weeks.
Husseini has said he was the victim of a conspiracy by Israelis and some Palestinians to discredit him and Abbas.
In response to Husseini's suspension, the former Palestinian intelligence officer who secretly took the footage in collusion with the unidentified woman said that he does not trust the commission of inquiry because one if its members was implicated in a corruption scandal.
Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report