Kindgo
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posted
Sep. 10, 2002
2,000 Palestinians rally in Gaza to express support of Saddam Hussein
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
About 2,000 Palestinians demonstrated in Gaza on Tuesday to express support for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, as rally organizers distributed checks from him to the families of Palestinians killed in clashes with the Israeli army.
Leaders of the Arab Liberation Front, the local chapter of Saddam's Ba'ath party, which organized the demonstration, delivered 10,000 dollar checks to the families of 36 people killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip in the last three months, said ALF leader Ibrahim Zannen. The dead are called "martyrs" by Palestinians.
Israel is one of the few countries supporting the United States as it seriously considers a military strike against Iraq. During the 1991 Gulf war, Saddam fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel. Under US pressure, Israel did not strike back.
In the Gaza demonstration, led by Hamas, marchers, carrying pictures of Saddam, vowed to support the Iraqi leader if the United States carries out a broad military action against him.
"We, the Palestinian people, are standing with Iraq and its people in front of the American offensive. We are one body," said Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the spiritual leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, who made a rare public appearance at the rally. Yassin, a quadriplegic, is said to be in failing health.
"Our people and the people of Iraq will not accept the aggression, and we will face this aggression with our blood," Yassin told The Associated Press. "We will fight for our honor and our dignity."
Yassin also condemned US support for Israel, saying Palestinians were united against Israel "in the resistance trench." He called on Americans to reject the policies of US President George W. Bush that are "against Arabs and Muslims," and urged them to stop giving support to Israel.
"They should know that we are against the occupation and we are fighting to liberate our land and to end the occupation," he said. Hamas has been responsible for dozens of suicide bombing attacks in Israel, but all originated from the West Bank, because Gaza is closed off by a security fence.
In the spring, the Iraqi leader increased money for the relatives of suicide bombers from 10,000 dollars to 25,000 dollars, drawing sharp criticism from Washington.
Palestinians say the bombers are driven by a thirst for revenge, religious zeal and dreams of glory, not greed.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satell...d=1031666131362
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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