Post-Saddam militants fund Palestinian terror? Captured document reveals continued support

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, September 29, 2004 | Aaron Klein

[JohnHuang2]

Remnants of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime may be seeking to fund terrorism against Israel by continuing the payments to families of Palestinian suicide bombers that Hussein previously provided, a document recently seized in Iraq and obtained by WorldNetDaily indicates.

The document, discovered by a U.S. military unit on the body of an Iraqi combatant in Northern Iraq, is a general "Certificate of Martyrdom" honoring a family member who carries out a suicide attack against Israelis. It was provided to WorldNetDaily by an American military source in Iraq.

Certificate of Martyrdom

Unlike documents Hussein issued while in power, the new certificate refers to the former Iraqi leader as a "Freedom Fighter," and is not signed by Hussein himself, but by the "Iraq Sector Command," a reference not previously used in such certificates, indicating that post-Hussein militants may be seeking to fund Palestinian terrorism.

Military analysts experienced in Iraqi affairs told WorldNetDaily the document appears indeed to be post-Hussein, although it is unclear whether it was printed while Hussein went into hiding or after he was captured in December 2003.

While in power, Hussein paid the families of Palestinian suicide bombers as much as $25,000 a piece. The checks were thought to provide major financial motivation to underprivileged teenagers who could help their cash-strapped families with the payments that would be issued upon completion of a suicide mission.

According to documents captured in 2002 by Israel's Operation Defensive Shield, Hussein set up an "Arab Liberation Front" – a Ba'ath party department in the Palestinian areas used to encourage terrorism and issue checks, usually through the Palestine Investment Bank, to the families of suicide bombers.

The payments were $15,000 at the start of the intifada, and were later raised to $25,000.

Hussein would also issue checks of $10,000 to the families of "ordinary" Palestinians killed in the intifada by other means, such as "through the aggression of the Zionist army."

Along with the checks came the martyrdom certificates, signed by Hussein, that read: "A gift from President Saddam Hussein to the family of a martyr in the al-Aqsa intifada. To those who irrigate the land with their blood. You deserve the honor you will receive from Allah and you will defeat all who bow before your will."

A $25,000 check and martyrdom certificate, for example, was transferred on June 23, 2002, to Khaldiya Isma'il Abd Al-Aziz Al-Hurani, mother of the Hamas terrorist Fuad Isma'il Ahmad Al-Hurani, who carried out a suicide attack on March 19 of that year in Jerusalem's Moment Cafe. Eleven Israelis were killed and 16 wounded in the attack.

Checks for $15,000 each were given along with the martyrdom certificates to the families of Hamas suicide terrorists who blew themselves up in Zion Square in Jerusalem on Dec. 1, 2001. Receipts were attached to the checks, in which the family confirmed they received the "President Saddam Hussein's Grant" from the "Arab Liberation Front."

Photo of a 2002 ceremony in which a check and certificate of merit were granted to the family of a killed terrorist from Khan Yunis.

Fatah and the Iraqi Ba'ath Party held a public ceremony Feb. 8, 2001, in which checks and certificates of merit were granted to families of those killed and wounded in the intifada.

And CNN recorded a ceremony in Gaza on July 18, 2002, in which a check and martyrdom certificate were granted to the family of a killed terrorist from Khan Yunis.

The mother proudly showed off the certificate to the cameras. But the document in view, which is signed by "President Saddam Hussein" and identical to those issued while Hussein was in power, is different from the certificate recently captured in Iraq. The new certificate calls Hussein "Mr. President Commander Freedom Fighter Saddam Hussein," lacks any official Iraqi state affirmation, and is signed by the "Iraqi Sector Command," a reference that has been used to refer to Iraqi insurgents.

The captured certificate, titled "Certificate of Voluntary Martyrdom for the Liberation of Palestine," reads: "For responding to the summons of Supreme President Freedom Fighter Saddam Hussein to serve Allah and his subjects, (fill in name of Martyr) is recognized for the high honor of his voluntary service for the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem from the treacherous cheating Zionists and for this high achievement this certificate of Martyrdom is conferred."

It is unclear whether any of the new certificates have been issued, or whether Baathist money has been transferred to Palestinians since Hussein's downfall and capture. Palestinian terrorism has sharply declined since America occupied Iraq and Israel began construction of its security fence.

Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, told WorldNetDaily: "Iraqi money for Palestinian suicide bombers for years helped to legitimize atrocities. Should that money have continued after the end of Saddam Hussein's rule, it points to the deep and abiding connection between his horrific regime and the horrific Palestinian killers."

An Israeli security source said, "the continuation of funding for Palestinian terrorism could serve Iraqi insurgent interests because it continues to stress their connection to the Palestinian and Arab causes, and helps them to recruit Palestinians to fight in Iraq."

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[trebb]

Darn that president Bush for causing this to perpetuate itself...