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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18975/full/18975/saddam-writes-arafat-on-14th-anniversary-of-declaration/ <br /><br /> <b>Saddam writes Arafat on 14th anniversary of declaration</b> <br /> Friday, December 13, 2002 | by <p>KHALED ABU TOAMEH </p> <br /><br /><p>JERUSALEM—Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat received a message from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein marking the 14th anniversary of the Palestinian "declaration of independence" issued by the PLO in Algiers, Palestinian officials said.<br /><br /> They said the message carried the Iraqi leader's wishes that the Palestinians will have the power to pursue their struggle until they achieve all their national goals, including the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.<br /><br /> The officials attached significance to the timing of the message, which comes amid growing threats by the United States and its allies to wage a war against Iraq if it does not reveal all its weapons of mass destruction.<br /><br /> Palestinians celebrate their Independence Day on Nov. 15, the day Arafat declared the establishment of the state of Palestine before the Palestinian National Council at a 1988 meeting in Algiers.<br /><br /> It is not clear why Saddam's message arrived only now in Ramallah. The officials would only say the message was delivered through the Palestinian Embassy in Baghdad. Stressing the "strong bond" between Arafat and Saddam, the officials said Arafat highly appreciates Iraq's ongoing support for the Palestinian people and the intifada.<br /><br /> Officially, the Palestinian Authority has avoided expressing its support for Iraq in the current confrontation with the United States and the West, fearful that such a move would harm the Palestinians' relations with Washington and the European Union. This position has not prevented newspaper columnists from slamming the United States for its campaign against Saddam.<br /><br /> Iraq has paid more than $20 million to families of Palestinians killed during the past two years, including suicide bombers. Families whose houses were demolished by the IDF and Palestinians wounded in the fighting have also benefited from Saddam's handouts.<br /><br /> Palestinian sources said the pro-Iraqi Arab Liberation Front, a small party operating in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is expected to distribute more money from Saddam later this week. The sources said the families of 41 Palestinians killed in recent weeks will receive $10,000 each.<br /><br /> According to the sources, the families of three suicide bombers will also receive $25,000 each. One of the suicide bombers blew himself up in a car outside an IDF outpost in the northern Gaza Strip three weeks ago. The other two, members of Islamic Jihad, carried out the suicide attack against a navy boat off the Gaza Strip coast on Nov. 23.</p> <p> </p>

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