By Mohammed Assadi
Ramallah - Disbelief and gloom seized many Palestinians on Sunday at news of Saddam Hussein's capture as Israel fired off a telegram of congratulations to the United States.
The former Iraqi ruler was a hero to many Palestinians for his stand against Israel and its US 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.
'He is the only man who said no to American injustice in the Middle East' "It's a black day in history," said Sadiq Husam, 33, a taxi driver in Ramallah, West Bank seat of the Palestinian Authority.
Continues Below ↓
"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 or his government.
But Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz hailed Saddam's capture in a telegram to the American government 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.
'It's a black day in history' Though far from all Palestinians supported him, militants marched to back Saddam ahead of the US-led invasion in March.
Arafat himself had opposed the 1991 Gulf War 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. "Saddam is a real man and all of us are with him."
Fifteen youngsters from Arafat's Fatah 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 on Sunday that Saddam's capture would not end attacks on US forces.
"The war will start now in Iraq," said 16-year-old Yusef Khalil in Gaza. "Saddam helped our people and we will not forget him."
Additional reporting by Shahdi al-Kashif in Gaza and Dan Williams in Jerusalem
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
