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Palestinians Mark 'Black Day' of Saddam
Capture |
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Sun Dec 14,11:19 AM ET |
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By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH (Reuters) - Disbelief and gloom seized many Palestinians Sunday at news of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s capture as Israel fired off a telegram of congratulations to Washington.
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The former Iraqi ruler was a hero to many Palestinians for his stand against Israel and its U.S. ally, as well as for helping families of Palestinians dead in an uprising.
For Israel, he was a menace over the horizon who long bankrolled the enemy.
"It's a black day in history," said Sadiq Husam, 33, a taxi driver in Ramallah, West Bank seat of the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites).
"I am saying so not because Saddam is an Arab, but because he is the only man who said no to American injustice in the Middle East," he said.
There was no immediate reaction from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) or his government.
But Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz hailed Saddam's capture in a telegram to Washington as proof of patience and determination in a war "against the rulers of darkness."
Saddam paid over $35 million to the kin of Palestinian suicide bombers, militants and bystanders who died in an uprising that began in 2000.
Though far from all Palestinians supported him, militants marched to back Saddam ahead of the U.S.-led invasion in March.
Arafat himself had opposed the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites) that ousted Saddam's forces from Kuwait. Palestinians cheered when Iraqi Scud missiles crashed into Israeli cities.
Some did not believe news of Saddam's capture even when images of the bearded figure flashed across television screens.
"Maybe they captured someone who looks like him," said Laila Abusharigh, 55, in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites). "Saddam is a real man and all of us are with him."
Fifteen youngsters from Arafat's Fatah (news - web sites) movement tagged onto a rally in Gaza for the Islamic group Hamas, holding up posters of Saddam.
Islamic factions sworn to Israel's destruction have taken strength from Iraqi resistance and cautioned Sunday that Saddam's capture would not end attacks on U.S. forces.
"The war will start now in Iraq (news - web sites)," said 16-year-old Yusef Khalil in Gaza. "Saddam helped our people and we will not forget him."
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