Many Iraquis Have No Love For Palestinians, Who Were Saddam's Henchmen

by Ali Al-Shabhoot Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003 at 7:36 PM

a brief description of relations between Iraquis and Palestinians living in Iraq, now that the Palestinians have lost their "favored personage" status

Many Iraquis Have No Love for Palestinians, Who Were Saddam's Henchmen

Many of the officers of Saddam's secret police were trained in tactics of torture and repression by Palestinians affilliated with Fatah and the PFLP.

Saddam cultivated a following among Palestinians and invited many of them to live in Iraq in "subsidized" housing. Many of these were people who had been working in Kuwait during the Iraqui invasion of Kuwait. The Palestinians in Kuwait acted as a 5th column for the invading Iraqui Army, and helped Saddam's secret police locate anyone who might be part of the resistance to Saddam - of course they could also take out grudges on former employers, the families of women who had spurned their advances, business competitors, etc.

Any Palestinian who envied the possessions of a Kuwaiti could "inform" on the Kuwaiti, whether or not there was any substance to what they told the Iraqui mukbharat (secret police).

The Kuwaiti person would have their properties seized when they were arrested and a portion of these properties went to the Palestinian who informed on them. This was not unlike a German informing on a Jew during WW2, in order to be rewarded with some percentage of the Jew's properties.

Now do you understand why the Kuwaitis did not want the Palestinians in their country after Saddam was forced out of Kuwait? And why the Saudis threw out all the Palestinians living and working in Saudi Arabia - as did the other gulf countries?

The Palestinians have their own extremist agenda which is contrary to that of most other Arabs in the Middle East. Note that Palestinians are not permitted work visas in any Arab country except for Jordan and Iraq. Their behaviour in Kuwait during the First Gulf War enraged many others in the Arab world. Now all Palestinian students are monitored (in Egypt for example) as a subversive. and potentially threatening element.

Under Saddam many Palestinians in Bagdhad lived in "subsidized" housing . That is, Saddam forced the landlords of many buildings to rent to the Palestinians for next to nothing. Now the rents are being raised to fair market value and the Palestinians are being booted out. Most Iraquis loathe the Palestinians as agents of Saddam or agents of various Islamic extremist factions.

Comments are invited. Of course I expect to see some Palestinian- Americans and their supporters denounce me for telling you what everyone in the Middle East knows already.

Original: Many Iraquis Have No Love For Palestinians, Who Were Saddam's Henchmen