Documents Reveal Saddam's Hand Behind Palestinian UprisingOctober 11, 2002
TEL AVIV - Palestinian documents captured by Israel detail Iraq's view of the Palestinian Authority as a base of influence that has both exploited and fueled the conflict which erupted two years ago.
"The [Palestinian] uprising is a once-in-a-lifetime historic opportunity to build the Ba'ath organization and expand its organizational base," raqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said in a handwritten letter.
The documents, as well as testimony from at least one detained Iraqi agent, reveal that Saddam Hussein's regime poured tens of millions of dollars into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to create an insurgency base. They assert that the effort was supervised by IRamadan and involved Saddam himself.
Military sources said the documents were captured during the Israeli invasion of West Bank cities in April. The sources said tens of thousands of documents were taken away and have since been translated and analyzed, Middle East Newsline reported.
The Saddam regime is said to have concluded that Iraq could exploit the Israel-Palestinian war to build a base in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The effort would focus on expanding the presence of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party with the approval of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat.
The documents reveal that Iraq sought to win influence among Palestinians by financing the families of insurgents. The effort was directed in the West Bank by Rakad Salam, secretary of the Baghdad-based Arab Liberation Front. Salam has been detained and questioned.
Arafat signed some of the documents forwarded by Iraq that discussed compensation to the families of Palestinians killed or wounded in attacks on Israel. Iraq has provided $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers and $10,000 for those killed in other operations against Israel.
The documents detail Arafat's support of Iraqi agents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These include Arafat's handwritten instructions to the PA Finance Ministry to approve funding of $100 to 50 members of the Iraqi-sponsored Palestinian Liberation Front. Arafat also provided offices for the organization.
Other documents told of Palestinians who sought Iraqi financing. They included Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al Quds University and regarded as leading Palestinian moderate.
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