No link, sorry.~ams
Iraq Raises Suicide Bomber Payments
By MOHAMMED
DARAGHMEH Associated Press Writer
April 3, 2002, 7:34 PM EST
NABLUS, West Bank -- Saddam Hussein has increased money for
the relatives of suicide bombers from $10,000 to $25,000, drawing
sharp criticism from Washington. But Palestinians say the bombers are
driven by a priceless thirst for revenge, religious zeal and dreams of glory
-- not greed.
Since Iraq upped its payments last month, 12 suicide
bombers have successfully struck inside Israel, including one man who killed
25 Israelis, many of them elderly, as they sat down to a meal at a hotel
to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover. The families of three
suicide bombers said they have recently received payments of $25,000.
The devout Muslims among the bombers, a majority, believe they will
go to heaven as martyrs and spend eternity in the company of 72 virgins.
In grainy farewell home videos, they often read passages from the
Muslim holy book, the Quran, and praise God. Secular attackers know that
after the deed, their families will win the adulation of friends,
neighbors and strangers.
The other motive seems to be a strong
yearning for revenge. Relatives of many of the bombers recall how many of the
young men's formative years were spent in Israeli jails. The mother of one
bomber said her son once watched Israeli soldiers beating his father.
Mahmoud Safi, leader of a pro-Iraqi Palestinian group, the
Arab Liberation Front, acknowledged that the support payments for
relatives make it easier for some potential bombers to make up their minds.
"Some people stop me on the street, saying if you increase the payment
to $50,000 I'll do it immediately," Safi said. He also suggested
such remarks were made mostly in jest.
Saddam has said the
Palestinians need weapons and money instead of peace proposals and has
provided payments throughout a year and a half of Israeli-Palestinian
battles. "I saw on Iraqi TV President Saddam saying he will continue
supporting the (uprising) even if it means selling his own clothes," said
Safi.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saddam's payments inspire
a "culture of political murder."
"Here is an individual who is the
head of a country, Iraq, who has proudly, publicly made a decision to go out
and actively promote and finance human sacrifice for families that will have
their youngsters kill innocent men, women and children," Rumsfeld said
Wednesday.
But Saddam is not the only one giving money. Charities from
Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- both U.S. allies -- pay money to families of
Palestinians killed in the fighting, including suicide bombers.
The
mother of Jamal Nasser, a 23-year-old architecture student who died trying to
ram an explosives-laden car into a bus carrying Jewish settlers, said she
received a check for $10,000 from Iraq and another for $5,000 from Saudi
Arabia. She said she plans to put the money toward buying an apartment. She
wants to move her family from the small place they've been renting for more
than 20 years. The money she received is about half the cost of a small
apartment in Nablus.
Fifty-five Palestinians have blown themselves up in
attacks on Israeli civilians in the past 18 months of fighting.
Under
the new Iraqi payscale, decided on March 12 during an Arab conference in
Baghdad, the families of gunmen and others who die fighting the Israelis will
still receive $10,000, while the relatives of suicide bombers will get
$25,000.
Safi and two others from the Arab Liberation Front visit
families in the northern West Bank and make the payments. "We go to every
family and give them a check," he said. "We tell them that this is a gift
from President Saddam and Iraq."
Yahoo! Groups
Sponsor |
ADVERTISEMENT
| |
|
|