Sex tape scandal rocks Palestinian leadership

PALESTINIAN officials yesterday rallied round a top aide to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas after a video surfaced showing him in an alleged attempt to trade his influence for sex.

The footage of Rafiq Husseini, shot by a former Palestinian intelligence officer, has caused uproar in conservative Palestinian society.

In the video, broadcast by Israeli TV, Mr Husseini is shown undressing in a bedroom and calling out to an unseen woman, heard speaking off camera, to join him.