Saddam Hussein has given $260,000 to 26 families of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel, including the family of a Hamas suicide bomber. In a packed banquet hall on Wednesday, the families came one-by-one to receive $10,000 checks. A large banner said: “The Arab Baath Party Welcomes the Families of the Martyrs for the Distribution of Blessings of Saddam Hussein.” The money – handed out by the Arab Liberation Front, which is affiliated with Saddam’s Baath Party – was distributed as the United States tried to get U.N. Security Council support to use military force to rid Iraq of banned arms and oust Saddam. Among the families were those whose children and relatives died carrying out Islamic Jihad and Hamas attacks. Both groups are on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist organizations. Other families had relatives killed during Israeli raids on Palestinian towns and refugee camps. Iraq gives $10,000 within 30 days to the families of those killed. In total, Saddam has given more than $35 million to West Bank and Gaza Strip families of Palestinians killed during the fighting, said Ibrahim Zanen, spokesman for the Arab Liberation Front in Gaza. Full Story
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