The Iraqis may have been dancing in the streets, but to the Palestinians this was a crushing blow. Most supported Saddam; many believed that his forces would fight and resist fiercely against American and coalition forces.
“This is a sad day for all the Arabs and Muslims, particularly the Palestinians,” Nael al-Am, a Ramallah grocer who keeps a poster of Saddam Hussein in his shop, told the Jerusalem Post.
“I invested a lot of money in buying a satellite dish and a new TV set because I wanted to watch the day the battle for Baghdad begins. I was sure this was going to be one of the great battles of the century, where an Arab army would inflict heavy losses on the invading crusaders. I feel as if a dagger has been stuck in my heart when I see American soldiers strolling in the heart of Baghdad.”
This was hardly the jubilant scenes that were filmed yesterday in Baghdad. And no wonder. The Palestinians haven’t had to live under Saddam’s brutal rule. Instead, the Iraqi regime has been funding Palestinian terror against Israel. To most Palestinians, Saddam Hussein was a symbol of Muslim resistance against Americans. And watching him fall – especially after swallowing the big talk and lies from their local media telling them that Saddam’s victory was assured – was a brutal disappointment.
Anyone who thinks that something good is bound to come of this within Palestinian society is, unfortunately, delusional. To the Palestinians, this is yet one latest in a long string of letdowns from lofty promises that they believed from various leaders. Many saw Arafat as their path to peace, glory, and a Palestinian state on all of Israel’s territory. When that didn’t materialize, many turned to other leaders – such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad – all promising spoils. And these same people were cruelly misled by Saddam Hussein’s big talk of being able to defend Iraq and simultaneously help the Palestinian people fight Israel.
It’s a shame, because the Palestinian people deserve better. They deserve leaders who will tell them the truth, not lie to them while using them as pawns on a chessboard.
Isaelis deserve better than hate and war mongers as leaders but…
Israelis CHOOSE their leaders. And they’ve chosen a government that’s committed to their security, not to throwing it away for a piece of paper that will only be honoured for about 5 seconds.
To be fair, very few Palestinians dancing in the streets had ever been to Iraq. To them Saddam was a TV symbol and occasional benefactor, not a flesh-and-blood tyrant.
Exactly my point, James.
Right Segacs, they CHOOSE their leaders (as the Palestinians chose their leader) and to make that choice they rely on what they are told by the media, government, etc.
“As the Palestinians chose their leader” ??? Yeah, in what election?
In spite of their incredible stupidity, the palestinians will get a lot from saddam’s defeat. And, unfortunately Israel will get something too: another arab “state” dedicated to its total destruction.