• Official PA Radio News - the PBC Radio November 26
• Official PA Radio News - the PBC Radio November 27
• Where Does The Money Go? The Secret Millions of Senior PA Officials by Ronen Bergman
• Saddam Hussein Speaks on Iraqi TV

It is not only that Israeli civilian deaths and casualties, even in major attacks such as the Hadera car bombing, are reported tersely-if at all- even successful attacks on Israeli soldiers and officers are reported laconically.

Even as Israeli newspapers are reporting that IDF commanders are noting the "operational achievements" and "improvements in sniping" by Palestinian soldiers, the Voice of Palestine is not citing these matters.

Normally, VOP would highlight an Israeli military setback or disaster -- especially at the hands of Palestinians. But it appears that the Palestinian Authority's radio outlet is pursuing a sophisticated media strategy placing the Palestinians in the underdog role. This expresses itself in highlighting Palestinian deaths and casualties while remaining unusually modest regarding the PA's own military initiatives and successes.

VOP continues to devote the lead stories of its news summaries and round-ups to descriptions of reported Israeli artillery barrages and missile attacks on innocent civilian neighborhoods.

Newscaster Samir Intehr introduced an item about the death of a child martyr: "The martyr deaths of the children of the Intifada continues, felling innocent children for nothing more than throwing rocks at the Occupier. So it was for the child Karam al-Kurd who was martyred at 200 meters away from the site of a confrontation, by shots that shattered his skull." The feature item described the 14 year-old Karameh who had gone to throw rocks with his elder brother in Rafah (in Gaza). "The shots clove open the skull of the child who fell into the arms of his brother, covering him with blood on the road. But the occupiers were not satisied with assassinating the child. They prevented a car from carrying him to a hospital in Khan Yunis". The feature, read in a soft voice by a female reporter (whose name was unclear), went on to describe the parents' poetic reaction (literally, poetry) to their son's death, their pride in his joining other martyrs in heaven.

Morning Headlines (7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m.)

"Masses of our people in Jenin, Nablus and Khan Yunis will accompany four martyrs to their final rest with other Intifada martyrs today (names and ages given in detail); President Arafat calls for renewed efforts to put end to Israeli aggression; President Arafat pushed or halt to Israeli aggression in meeting with Egyptian president Mubarak and contacts with Russian president Vladimir Putin; Minister Abd-Rabbo meeting with UN Secretary General; Minister Abd-Rabbo says American media show understanding for Israeli side, equalizing treatment of the crimes of the victimizer and his victim."

Arafat Response (to question by VOP Gaza correspondent 'Adil Za'anun): "We are working on the international level, on the Arab level and on the Islamic level, on the United Nations level and with friends of peace -- the Russian Federation and the United States of America- Euorpe and the non-aligned nations, on an economic and diplomatic plane to firm up the efforts of our people, to support our people at every instant, because our people are a people of heroes.

Interview: Cabinet Secretary Ahmad Abdul-Rahman

"Israel continues to pursue a war of aggression and expansion. Israel clings to war Israel wants to build a second Israel in the (West) Bank and the (Gaza) Strip. They are not satisfied with the first Israel that was established in 1948. They want a second Israel, and that's why they are pushing this battle. We have not seen peace since 1993 (note: Oslo signings), but the Oslo peace is nothing but a counterfeit peace.

We have not seen that peace reinforced by an Israeli withdrawal, and we have not seen that peace implemented with the realization of Palestinian rights. This solution of Judaizing Palestine entirely and of Judaizing Jerusalem and establishing a second Israel in the (West) Bank and Gaza will not stand. That is why for two months-for nearly two months-we have been (fighting) to prevent the realization of this goal.

The Palestinian people will not cease its intifada until Israel withdraws to the June 4 1967 borders without the shadow of a settlement or a settler inside Palestinian territory".

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The main morning news show was pushed back from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., with the broadcasting itself beginning at 7 a.m. (instead of 6 a.m.) with Quaranic passages extolling the need for fasting.

VOP's detailed listing of martyrs and wounded (who were deemed "stars of the blessed Intifada" or "stars of the martyred") led the news bulletins, but these were sandwiched between special religious programming with a marked militant political tone.

For example, the "Special Ramadan Show" written by Radwan Abu-Ayyash (the director of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) spoke of the need to "purify the Holy Land" from the "Zionist presence".

Morning Headlines

"Today is the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan, 1421 to the Hejira (Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina); Occupation forces spray their fire to all fronts in cold -blooded and tyrannical and fatal crimes,leading to the matryring of four youths; General Abdel-Razik al Mujaidah says Israel's failure to meet its obligations means the failure of previous understandings; A fifth martyr in Gaza who died of wounds suffered earlier; the continuation of Israel's aggression while we Palestinians continue our struggle on a variety of levls as the Intifada settles down (literally: pitches its tent) in Ramadan as Ramadan settles down with the Intifada."

Tone

The start of Ramadan lends a background of protracted struggle and suffering to Intifada as VOP commentators and PA officials reinforce the message that struggle will continue until all Palestinian goals are met.

Local Report From Qalqilya -- Mustafa Malkiy reporting

"It was cold-blooded murder as the occupation forces opened fire on one of the youths and then prevented cars from taking them from the area. We tried via the Red Cross to transfer the wounded. They refused that also, but after around five hours of crimes with great forces from the Israeli army, armored cars and two helicopters, they informed us we had four martyrs from the youths of Qalqilya. But there may be a fifth martyr, whose identity is unknown, who fell in their hands. From Qalqilya we wish you a blessed Ramadan and we will continue our struggle until we have realized our independence."

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The Finance Ministry, the GSS, IDF Intelligence and DCO offices have innumerable stories and information about corruption in the PA. It was even suggested a week ago in the Prime Minister’s Bureau to threaten publishing this information if the violence continued.

This matter involves the heads of the Palestinian regime in a knot of complex circles of bribery, protection money, power struggles, politics and social structure problems.

The border crossings are an excellent example. This is how it works: Israel collects customs duties at the entrances and exits from the PA to Israel, to Egypt and Jordan, for itself and the Palestinians. Israel is obliged to return the portion owed to the PA, which after taking off commission, comes to 40%. In ’97, the Palestinians asked that their portion of the money collected at the Karni roadblock, about a million shekel a month, be transferred to a new account. The Israeli Airport Authority raised an eyebrow. It turned out that the new account was registered on behalf of the National Palestinian Transit Authority. Israel had not heard of this organization. An examination showed that the real owner of the account was Mohammed Dahlan, head of the Palestinian Preventive Service in Gaza. This was a private account, subject solely to Dahlan's orders.

For Dahlan, this money serves as a base to fund his organization and his hedonistic lifestyle. To this should be added more millions of shekels from various taxes and protection money that he collects, such as the docks for loading and unloading on the Palestinian side of the Karni crossing.

Dahlan is not alone in this business. Funding for all the PA’s swollen organizations, mainly its security services, come from various taxes transferred to personal coffers and are not channeled through a central financial system. Some of the money goes into the private pockets of commanders. Intelligence sources in Israel say that these taxes also enable these organizations to increase their power in the struggle for Arafat's legacy.

In Palestinian terms, a million shekel a month is a great deal of money. The Airport Authority decided a month ago to stop the party and to transfer the money to the central account of the Palestinian Finance Ministry in Gaza. Dahlan, say sources in the PA, exploded with anger and sent in his people, who demanded keeping the situation as it was.

Dahlan's emissary, who conducted the struggle with the Airport Authority, was Arafat's economic consultant and close confidante, Mohammed Rashid.

It is worth Rashid's while to help Dahlan out. Rashid is the chief beneficiary of the PA's monopoly on gasoline, one of the strongest and most profitable organizations in the PA.

This monopoly is dependent on a contract making him the exclusive contractor for gasoline signed with the Israeli Dor Energy company.

The organization providing the security entourage for Dor Energy trucks going in to the Gaza Strip are Dahlan's people, who receive their salary from that fictitious account that is replenished by the Karni crossing money.

Israel knows that senior PA officials fear the sensitivity of the Palestinian public to stories of corruption. Security sources believe that these latest riots are, to a certain degree, a warning signal to Arafat.

They are an indirect protest of the insiders -- those who were born and grew up and suffered in the territories, who did the ground manual work in the years of the Intifada and who make up the hard core of the Tanzim -- against the outsiders, Fatah members who lived the good life in Tunis and Europe and took on the status of nouveau riche at the expense of the Palestinian public.

For this reason, the GSS believes, two senior security heads, Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan, are not criticized and are safe from the public anger. Both served long years in Israel jails are considered to have paid a personal price. As for the rest, the anger toward them is great.

Israel exports goods worth two billion dollars a year to the PA while the PA exports goods worth two billion shekel a year to Israel.

A source in the IDF Planning Branch says: “This situation sheds a great shadow over the future of the PA as a sovereign state with a stable regime. Lack of economic planning, adopting erroneous policies that are mainly for narrow political interests and the rooting of corruption, nepotism and poor administration as a norm, can, in the final analysis, lead to a rise in the power of extremist movements in the territories and to a collapse of the peace agreements.

In intensive debates last week in the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office, those attending presented a series of ways of hitting the PA and its leaders in their pocket. There were those who demanded cutting off the PA's economic lifelines, and to publish embarrassing information about senior officials.

Finance Ministry officials were opposed and approached the matter from a purely economic angle: Israel must not, they argued, intervene in the PA’s internal matters. Legalists at the meeting concurred. Israel, they said, does not have the moral authority to demand excessive changes of Arafat and to set an ultimatum to stop transferring customs duties. Others said that such a step would not only be an obvious violation of signed agreements, it would also be interpreted as a political attempt to escalate the conflict with the Palestinians.

Security establishment figures said this would be an effective way of punishing Arafat for the riots but that not only the Palestinians suffer from corruption. They said that Israel would also bear the consequences if Hamas power increased because of economic distress and because of a lack of trust in the current leadership.

In any case, this is a decision for the prime minister. The security establishment hopes that a direct threat on Yasser Arafat’s good name, as well as on his associates, will be more effective. After one meeting an Israeli security source said: I am sure the Palestinians would be happy to know what we know about its leaders. The degree of the corruption, the lack of shame, the depth to which senior PA officials dip into the public pocket surprises me anew all the time. For example, a large Israeli company bought an apartment in Ashkelon and holds parties there -- not necessarily of the moral kind -- for a few senior PA officials, in exchange for giving that company a monopoly on supplying an important product.

There are some there whose fingerprints are everywhere: monopolies, importing cigarettes and gasoline, casino, border crossing taxes, licenses and etc. Some are not embarrassed to manage the most trivial deals themselves. Thus, for example, there are negotiations with garage owners in Jaffa and Ramle on servicing and improving their Mercedes in exchange for supplying them with stolen spare parts.

The main sources of corruption in the PA derive from the economic agreements signed with Israel. The Paris agreement, signed in ’94, states two laws: no economic border between Israel and the PA and one customs arrangement. This means that Israel collects all the customs duties on goods coming from overseas and gives the PA its share for goods entering the PA. Every month between 200 and 240 million shekel are transferred to the Palestinian coffers, constituting 60% of its budget.

The calculations on how much to transfer are based on receipts. The more receipts they present, the more the PA receives. Israel has intercepted messages passed by the Palestinian regime to merchants, asking them to obtain more receipts from Israeli merchants and to try not to give receipts for goods exported from the PA to Israel. So a large industry of receipt forgers developed. Israeli crooks manufacture receipts for their colleagues on the other side in exchange for goods that were never sold. The Palestinians transfer them to their own Finance Ministry who transfer them to Israel, which pays a lot of many, that is divided among everyone, who laugh all the way to the bank.

At Camp David, there were discussions on the final status arrangement between the economic and financial heads of both sides. Israel wanted to put an end to the tax return story, which leads to increasing corruption, and to create instead a free trade zone, where each side would collect its own taxes.

The Israeli team, headed by the head of the budget department, was surprised at the composition of the Palestinian team. “Where is Rashid,” they asked when he didn’t come. “Rashid is at Camp David with the chairman,Maher al-Matzri, the Finance Minister answered somewhat embarrassed.

Mohammed Rashid did not budge from Arafat’s side throughout the summit. Camp David established his status in the PA. He dresses elegantly, speaks excellent English, is married to a beautiful Canadian woman and can tell a good joke when it is called for. Rashid concentrates immense financial power in his hands, both as senior economic consultant to the rais and as a private businessman, nourished by the favors accorded him thanks to his other role.

Israel estimates today that Rashid is the only one whom Arafat trusts completely and he is also the only one, except for Arafat, who is familiar with all the intricacies of the PLO’s assets in the world and in the PA. Rashid's businesses branch out in all directions. Attempts by Israel to follow the branches were useless. Rashid is linked to a network of companies that branch downwards. He only holds shares in the parent company, but the various subsidiaries are linked in practice to most of the economic activity in the territories.

The colossal sums that Israel transfers to the PA are under the direct control of Rashid. Thus two budget systems were created in the PA: Rashid's, from which salaries are paid and over which there is no supervision, and the budget for development and building infrastructure, which includes the donations and is under the full control of the donor countries.

When the Paris agreements were to be first implemented in 1994, the Palestinians asked that the money be transferred to four different bank accounts in the Bank of Palestine and the Arab Bank in Gaza.

Tax returns on gasoline were to be transferred to a secret account in Bank Leumi in Tel Aviv. Only Rashid and the chairman were signatories to this account.

Until half a year ago, 1.6 billion shekel were deposited in the account. Then Rashid kept his promise and unified all the PA’s accounts into one central account in the Arab Bank in Gaza.

What happened to the money in the Tel Aviv account? It depends who you ask. Rashid claims that everything was transferred to the Palestinian Finance Ministry. Israeli officials heard from Palestinian ministers that most of the money was never transferred. Joseph Saba, director of the World Bank in the territories, said last year: “We have no idea what happened with this account.

The donor countries estimate that 30% of the hundreds of millions they gave were indeed transferred to the Palestinian Finance Ministry. Around 40% pay for activities by PLO institutions worldwide and are invested in welfare activities and support for orphans and widows in refugee camps in Lebanon. The remaining 30% is for the private needs of senior PA officials or were transferred overseas in case of an uprising or Israeli conquest.

Another major problem in the PA’s economic structure are the monopolies. When the PA was set up, several areas were declared monopolies. It is not clear why the PA finds it necessary to be involved in so many obviously private ventures, unless it wants to give franchises to those close to them, mainly Rashid.

The monopoly buys the product it is charged with for a certain price from either the manufacturer or the Israeli importer and sells it in the territories for much more. It is not clear where the difference goes, and we are talking about sums in the hundreds of millions.

The U.S. State Department noted in the past, that there were 20 monopolies in the PA. For example there are monopolies on gasoline, cement, cigarettes, gravel, animal feed, steel, meat, paint and construction materials.

Other products are also not open to others. Nabil Shaath’s Egyptian company, for example, imports computers into the territories; the Paaltek company in Ramallah for electronic entertainment goods is owned by Yasser Abbas (Abu Mazen's son) and Sammy Ramlawi. Many Palestinian businessmen are very bitter over the monopolies, which have done away with competition and have closed markets that were open under the Israeli occupation.

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On Nov 25, addressing a cabinet meeting, Saddam gave a fiery speech attacking Israel and the US, calling on the Palestinians to continue their uprising, and threatening Arab rulers who do not support them sufficiently.

As Iraq TV reported, Saddam, referring to the US, said, "This enemy cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot repent. The issue has nothing to do with insufficient awareness, nor with a deficient choice of methods. The heart of the matter is that the enemy seeks to set up a monstrous entity to the Arabs' detriment, with a view to colonizing the Arabs, all Arabs, through economy, financial speculation, politics, and the threat of force.

"Palestine is the main battleground. It was the battleground it used to set up its entity in the initial stages. However, all Arabs and all Arab lands are now the target of its Jewish colonialist drive and greed. The Palestinians cannot elicit a genuine Arab role [ED: response?] unless they continue with the struggle. When they continue with the struggle, the Arab regimes that do not pursue a pan-Arab approach will either be toppled or change their approach. The regime that does not change its approach will be toppled."

Saddam indicated that for him the Gulf war never ended. He said, "Had not Iraq stood fast and made sacrifices for eight years during Al-Qadisiyah [Iraq-Iran war] and for 11 years during the Mother of Battles [the Gulf War], it would have been destroyed and we would have been turned into refugees . . . . change its approach will be toppled."

"The Arab people have not so far fulfilled their duties. They are called upon to target US and Zionist interests everywhere and target those who protect these interests [Ed: i.e. unspecified Arab governments]. The latter will either correct their position -- through supporting the battle and being part of it -- or fall down. . . . The Arabs -- or some of them to be accurate and fair -- are working, at the official level, more enthusiastically than America and the Zionist entity to stop the intifadah at any cost at the expense of the Palestinian question. They should know that either they embrace the right position, in which they do not believe, or they will fall down or be isolated. . .

"The Arab masses must uphold their principles, expose the stands of the cowardly, and encourage those who, we hope, will continue to struggle against the United States and Zionism and their interests wherever they are. They have to direct the real struggle and jihad against US interests in order to deter the aggressors. Only then will the Arabs be said to have performed their duty. . . . As far as principles are concerned, we in Iraq say that every immigrant Jew must leave the land of Palestine and return to his country. This is Iraq's stand. . .

"I would like an official memorandum to be sent to the United Nations saying that we, in Iraq, would like to include the Palestinian people in the oil-for-food formula and give a share from our money to the Palestinian people. This memorandum should be officially dispatched in the name of Iraq to the Security Council and the UN secretary general. >From there, a share will be set aside for the Palestinian people."

As with Saddam's speeches that the regime considers important, this speech appeared in the Iraqi press the next day, Nov 26, as Reuters reported.

I. SADDAM'S FIERY SPEECH ATTACKING ISRAEL, US, ARABS
Baghdad Republic of Iraq Television in Arabic 1800 GMT 25 Nov 00 [FBIS Translated Text]

The mujahid leader, President Saddam Husayn, may God protect him, has said that the Americans know that any proposal they make on the intifadah will immediately be rejected by the Arabs. He said there is a psychological structure that opposes anything presented by the United States. Therefore, they, in agreement with the Zionists, are trying to promote a series of ideas, which would inevitably, but implicitly, involve some kind of a relinquishment of the past arrogance and a different way of handling. However, I doubt if the Americans, who are allies of the Zionists, can abandon the substance of their scheme, he added.

The president's statements were made in a comprehensive and important pan-Arab speech, which President Saddam Husayn, may God protect him, made while chairing the Council of Minister's 49th session during the Council's discussion of the intifadah of our people in Palestine.

[Begin Saddam Husayn recording] The Americans know that the Arabs will immediately reject any proposal they make. There is a psychological structure that opposes anything presented by the Americans. Therefore, the United States, in agreement with the Zionists, is trying to promote a series of ideas, which would inevitably, but implicitly, involve some kind of a relinquishment of past arrogance and a different way of handling. However, I doubt if the Americans, who are allies of the Zionists, can abandon the substance of their scheme.

Therefore, we may see a move in form, in secondary issues, and in the way of handling, which means a maneuver to circumvent the unity of the intifadah, the unity of the people of the intifadah and their determination to continue their march toward liberation. Liberation is the goal of the intifadah. The substance and goal of the Palestinian people's intifadah is the liberation of their land. Can these maneuvers, policies, and proposals allow them to achieve the liberation of the land? The answer is no. No. Therefore, the most important thing we want from the Palestinian leaders -- and I do not say the Palestinian leadership only, but all the Palestinian leaders -- is not to pin any hope on the short-term political solutions. They should show more endurance. Anyone who wants to liberate his homeland should show greater endurance and patience. The sacrifices should not pain him. I mean, the sacrifices may pain him as a human being, but they should not weaken his determination. Sacrifices may pain him from inside, but he should endure the pain and keep his determination, so that he can liberate his land. We are their brothers. We say Iraq is part of them. Iraq and Palestine are brothers, both in terms of pan-Arabism and in terms of jihad.

We remind them of this fact only in an effort to help them keep their determination at the pace they wish it to be. We tell them that the Iraqis have offered rivers of blood so that Iraq can keep its sovereignty in full. The Iraqis have shown great readiness to offer sacrifices for that goal. These sacrifices used to pain us, but we took the pain in silence. We got used to handling this pain and continued to offer sacrifices so that Iraq would not be lost, so that it would not lose its historic opportunity to take control of the factors that can augment its glory, status, and influence. This will allow its people to become their own masters, and Iraq will not be lost in terms of geography. Iraq was threatened. It was under threat as a civilization, geography, culture, and position; and its immortal, high values were threatened.

What is it that enabled Iraq to hold out and preserve all this? It was its willingness to make sacrifices. Sacrifice is not confined to the offering of martyrs, be they sons or brothers. When it takes over, the leadership regards all the people as its children, brothers, and fathers, each according to his or her age. Sacrifices should not be regarded as painful. They should continue with their intifadah, with God's blessings.

This enemy cannot repent [Saddam repeats the word "cannot" four times]. The issue has nothing to do with insufficient awareness, nor with a deficient choice of methods. The heart of the matter is that the enemy seeks to set up a monstrous entity [kiyan miskh] to the Arabs' detriment with a view to colonizing the Arabs, all Arabs, through economy, financial speculation, politics, and the threat of force.

Palestine is the main battleground. It was the battleground it used to set up its entity in the initial stages. However, all Arabs and all Arab lands are now the target of its Jewish colonialist drive and greed. The Palestinians cannot elicit a genuine Arab role unless they continue with the struggle. When they continue with the struggle, the Arab regimes that do not pursue a pan-Arab approach will either be toppled or change their approach. The regime that does not change its approach will be toppled. This will happen if the intifadah continues. But if, God forbid, the Palestinians' stand experiences ups and downs upholding seemingly wonderful slogans in the initial stages only to be diluted subsequently, they would appear as if they were involuntarily giving some Arab rulers the chance to engage in maneuvering without having to choose between pursuing a pan-Arab approach, which entails true faith, and a regime change.

We appeal to all the Palestinian people -- leadership and grassroots, to the intifadah and those staging it -- to be careful about the maneuverings. The United States may come up with solutions that can be called political when in point of fact they may be designed to hurt the Palestinian people and the Arabs. The United States may elicit the support of others. In this regard, I do not want to point accusing fingers at any party in the world except for the United States. However, some world leaders are now courting the United States. They may agree to play a role which they know will not be conducive to the freedom of the Palestinian people nor to their leading a dignified life and building a clear future.

But, when given such an assignment, and wanting to gain the familiar appreciation, some may get engaged in such a task. That is, citing the familiar refrain regarding the desire to achieve a cease-fire or to stop the violence, some may rush to solutions that would eventually be self-defeating and end up being to the Palestinians' detriment.

The solution is that since the objective is to liberate Palestine, then they should continue. But if the objective was a partial improvement of a certain situation along with the acceptance of the Zionist colonization, then this is a different story and this is left to them to assess. They are suffering, and the conflict is inequitable in the technical sense of the word, but it is equitable in the historical sense of the word. From a historical point of view, this means that any step forward and any steadfastness for some time by the Palestinian people will attract the depth of the Arab nation. Some Arabs will be involved willingly, and others will be involved forcefully.

These stones will attract the depth of the Arab nation so that the conflict, from a historical point of view, will be equitable. On the other hand, the balance will be in favor of the Arabs, particularly in favor of the Palestinians.

To say what is after this, what is after this is liberation, steadfastness, patience, and sacrifice, which will achieve the objective. Had not Iraq stood fast and made sacrifices for eight years during Al-Qadisiyah [Iraq-Iran war], and for 11 years during the Mother of Battles, it would have been destroyed and we would have been turned into refugees. Zionism, the United States, and other well-known sides also would have turned the Iraqis against each other until they would lose all the exalted values and remain bodies without souls. However, the Iraqis' insistence on jihad and struggle and their high readiness to make sacrifices until they achieve the objective have actually achieved the objective.

The most important thing we hope our Palestinian brothers will do, providing that we are part of them and what affects them affects us, and will consider that the most precious thing is their unity. There is nothing more precious than the unity of ranks in the face of the danger that threatens everything. Any flexibility among the Palestinians is legitimate, while this flexibility should be calculated carefully with the enemy.

Blood can only be rewarded by victory. It is the only thing that can spare blood from being shed at a later time. Victory can save blood. Any operation that does not lead to victory will be part of history, but it will not reward blood. As long as the objective is not guaranteed this action will possibly be repeated at any time and the bleeding will continue. Historical opportunities are not always available for peoples so that victory will be the price for their blood unless their leaders are really alert.

The Arab people have not so far fulfilled their duties. They are called upon to target US and Zionist interests everywhere and target those who protect these interests. The latter will either correct their position -- through supporting the battle and being part of it -- or fall down. The Arab people should not labor under the illusion that they have done their duties. They have not done so, neither in Iraq nor anywhere else. In Iraq, the people have not fulfilled their duties yet. We struggle to have the opportunity to fulfill our duties. Thus, no one has the right to say that he or she has fulfilled his or her duties. Only when we liberate Palestine can we say that we have fulfilled our duties. No one has the right to say so before this is achieved.

The Arabs -- or some of them to be accurate and fair -- are working, at the official level, more enthusiastically than America and the Zionist entity to stop the intifadah at any cost at the expense of the Palestinian question. They should know that either they embrace the right position, in which they do not believe, or they will fall down or be isolated.

The Arab people must not stop using all means possible to feel that they are supportive of the Palestinians and to make the latter feel this support. If they say that Palestine is their cause and that it is holy, then they should offer a level of sacrifice that is commensurate with this description. However, if they are only seeking to help [the Palestinians] from afar -- like when Russia would help an African state, the United States would aid an Asian country, or an Arab country would help a distant third world country -- the matter is different.

The Arabs are one nation and Palestine is our cause. We are not offering help, but rather playing our role. Do you think that the leadership -- now that Iraq has expressed its position and made preparations -- does not realize that it should be ready for a level of sacrifices that are higher than what is ordinary in life? The Iraqi leadership is aware of this and knows the fighters who have volunteered to fight for the sake of Palestine.

We know that America and the Zionism are full of hatred against Iraq because of its position. We, however, do not care because our position is based on the principle that we are one nation, and that what happens in Palestine is similar to what happens in Basra, Mosul, and Baghdad. We have offered rivers of blood to keep Basra, Mosul, Baghdad, Karbala, Al-Najaf, Al-Diwaniyah, Karkuk, and Irbil proud. We have to rise up to this level of readiness to sacrifice for the sake of Palestine. Any readiness that falls short of that signals a flaw in our principles. We have sound stands and a fair-minded view of principles. All Arab states, including Iraq, have thus far failed to meet the minimum requirements of the stand they should adopt vis-a-vis the Palestine cause.

The Arab masses must uphold their principles, expose the stands of the cowardly, and encourage those who, we hope, will continue to struggle against the United States and the Zionism and their interests wherever they are. They have to direct their real struggle and jihad against the US interests in order to deter the aggressors. Only then will the Arabs be said to have performed their duty. Some will have performed the minimum level of their duty, while others will be said to have performed a fair enough share of their duty.

The demonstrations that took to the streets are not enough, nor is it enough that people volunteered in Baghdad. The volunteering that took place in Baghdad is a preparatory step so that soldiers can fight on the land of Palestine or around it in order to liberate it. Participating in the demonstrations and voicing condemnation or denunciation are quite natural. We have to shift the preparations and efforts to a higher level. We should not allow maneuvers and attempts to let down the mujahid Palestinian people on the land of Palestine.

As far as principles are concerned, we in Iraq say that every immigrant Jew must leave the land of Palestine and return to his country. This is Iraq's stand. This is the sound stand that will stabilize the world and the region and make everyone regain his fair rights. As long as the immigrant Jews continue to live on the land of Palestine and as long as Palestine continues to be usurped by the Zionism, the region will never be stable at all.

The Arabs should communicate this to Britain, and to the United States above all. They should tell them that their interests are threatened as long as the Zionist entity continues to exist. If they [the United States and Britain] do not feel this and if the United States does not feel that all its interests and the flow of oil to it are not guaranteed as long as the Zionist entity exists, they will never disengage their strategic ties with the Zionist entity and stop supporting it to the detriment of the Arabs. The Arabs should, therefore, make the United States feel that all its interests in the Arab World are threatened as long as the Zionist entity exists.

I would like an official memorandum to be sent to the United Nations, saying that we, in Iraq, would like to include the Palestinian people in the oil-for-food formula and give a share from our money to the Palestinian people. This memorandum should be officially dispatched in the name of Iraq to the Security Council and the UN secretary general. From there [the UN], a share will be set aside for the Palestinian people.

The memorandum should be prepared on a pan-Arab level. In other words, we have to tell them that we are one nation and that the Palestinian people are part of the Iraqi people. We have to tell them that the Palestinian people are currently under siege and what harms them does the same to the Iraqi people. This is our money. We want a share in the memorandum of understanding to be allocated for the Palestinian people in order to support their national and pan-Arab stand, which is a legitimate right in defense of their territory in accordance with the UN Charter. Once this approval is received, we are ready to draft a list of the needs of the Palestinian people to be added to our needs and subtracted from our funds. [end recording]

The cabinet also looked into the issues listed on its agenda and took the appropriate decisions and recommendations.

The cabinet discussed amending Revolution Command Council [RCC] Resolution No. 172 for the year 1991 pertaining to the soldiers department. Under the proposed amendment, nonmilitary personnel who played a distinguished role in the Al-Qadisiyah and the mother of battles will be included and thus transferred to this department. The cabinet recommended that this draft law be passed to the RCC for endorsement.

The cabinet also agreed to introduce amendments to the special constraints that restrict granting pieces of land to the military personnel through their affiliate societies.

The cabinet also ratified a proposal by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to grant incentives to the employees of the State Facility of the Civil Aviation and the Central Bank.

The cabinet endorsed the funds allocated for digging wells in Altun Cupri to provide Al-Ta'mim governorate with its water needs, offset water scarcity, and provide drinking water for Karkuk on condition that the project be included in the investment plan of the Interior Ministry for the year 2001.

The cabinet also agreed to increase the annual allocations for the housing units project which is intended to serve the faculty member doctors, so that the Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry will be able to complete the requirements of this project during the remaining time of this year.

The cabinet discussed a proposal to set up a fund for supporting the internal departments of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry with the aim of providing the financial resources needed to build or rent the internal departments, support, develop, and maintain them. The cabinet recommended that this be passed to the RCC for endorsement.

In order to reduce the construction of buildings and installations without an official license issued by the Baghdad Municipality or the concerned municipality in the administrative units, and in order to maintain the basic design of Baghdad and the basic designs of other municipalities, the cabinet endorsed a draft law amending the law of the administration of municipalities No. 165 for the year 1964. After introducing some amendments to it, the cabinet recommended that the law be passed to the RCC for endorsement. [Video shows Saddam addressing cabinet members]

[Description of Source: Official television station of the Iraqi Government]

II. SADDAM'S SPEECH PRINTED IN IRAQ PRESS

Saddam Urges Palestinians to Continue Uprising BAGHDAD, Nov 26 (Reuters) - President Saddam Hussein urged Palestinians to continue their uprising against Israel and to ignore "short-sighted political solutions" sponsored by the United States.

Iraq has supported the Palestinians over two months of Israeli- Palestinian clashes and has called for Islamic Jihad "holy war" to liberate Palestinian territory from Israel. "What we hope from Palestinian leadership is that they should not pin hope on short-sighted political solutions and they should be patient because anyone who wants to liberate his country should show patience," Iraqi newspapers on Sunday quoted Saddam as saying. Saddam, speaking during a cabinet meeting late on Saturday, also called for confronting U.S. interests anywhere in the world. "Arabs should direct their struggle and jihad against American interests," he said.

Middle East diplomacy shifted to Egypt where President Hosni Mubarak and a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met to explore ways of ending two months of bloodshed in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Israeli official, Danny Yatom met Mubarak less than a week after Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv and accused the Jewish state of aggression towards Palestinians. Saddam had urged the United Nations to include relief supplies for the Palestinian people under Iraq's oil-for-food deal with the world body.

"I want an official memorandum to be submitted to the Security Council and the Secretary-General asking for a quota for the Palestinian people to be deducted from Iraq's revenues of the memorandum of understanding," Iraqi television quoted Saddam as saying during a cabinet meeting on Saturday.

Baghdad has always taken a hard line towards Israel and fired Scud missiles at the Jewish state during the Gulf War. It also opposes peace agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians and those signed with neighbouring countries.

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