TEL AVIV Ñ 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.
