{PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Headline News"}
Saddam Urges 'Holy War' on Israel
CNSNews.com
Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2000
JERUSALEM “ Fiery expressions of nationalism and calls
for jihad ("holy war") replaced the traditional Christmas
message of "peace on Earth and goodwill toward men" in
the Middle East this holiday season.
Iraq continues to assert itself as the incoming Bush
administration's first crisis. Dictator Saddam Hussein on
Monday called on Muslims and Christians around the world
to declare a jihad against Israel and what he called the
"Zionist conspiracy."
He praised Christians and other Iraqis for standing up to
conspiracies through which "the United States, Britain and
Zionism ... have tried to bend Iraqis' will, bring them to their
knees and master their independent decision.''
In his traditional Christmas message, published on the front
page of every Baghdad newspaper, Saddam accused Israel
of defiling Muslim and Christian holy sites and trying to
destroy the Palestinians with the help of the U.S.
"Principles of Islam and the teachings of Jesus Christ make
it imperative on us to take the road that satisfies God and
our conscience ... that is the road of jihad," he said.
"Without jihad, we will not realize what we are hoping for in
achieving peace and justice and saving humanity from the
evils of the criminals, the murderers," he added.
London's Sunday Times, meanwhile, has reported that
Saddam ordered his scientists two years ago to resume
work on a plan to make a nuclear bomb. This occurred four
months before he expelled United Nations weapons
inspectors, according to a defector quoted in the Times.
Salman Yassin Zweir, a design engineer employed by the
Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission for 13 years, was
reportedly arrested and tortured when he refused to return
to the program. He managed to escape to Jordan after being
admitted to a hospital as a result of beatings.
"Saddam is very proud of his nuclear team," 39-year-old
Zweir was quoted as saying. "He will never give up the
dream of being the first Arab leader to have a nuclear
bomb."
The paper quoted a senior Western diplomat as saying that
Zweir's revelation was the "first concrete evidence of what
we feared might be happening."
Iraq was between one and four years away from making an
atom bomb when its primary facilities were destroyed in the
1991 Gulf War, according to estimates by U.N. inspectors.
Saddam's plans for development, known as Project 3000,
were further hindered by the arrival of U.N. inspectors after
the war.
Powell, Iraq, Europe and NMD
Secretary of State-designate Colin Powell is expected to use
the Iraqi nuclear threat as a means to convince Europe to
back the proposed National Missile Defense.
The revelation comes on the heels of a claim by Iraqi
Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Sultan Hashem Ahmed that his
country could destroy Israel on the battlefield.
"Iraq can destroy Israel because it possesses a large
combat experience in dealing with all possibilities," Ahmed
was quoted as saying in an interview with the weekly Al-
Zawraa newspaper to be published this week. He added
that Iraq would be willing to send its troops to defend any
Arab country threatened by Israel.
Ahmed said there had been no military coordination between
Iraq and other Arab states regarding a potential
confrontation with Israel, but added that several countries,
including Syria, were satisfied with Baghdad's position on
the Israeli-PA conflict.
Syria made its own Christmas offering to the Palestinian
cause on state television.
A clip shows Father Christmas cheerfully ringing his bells on
the way to Jerusalem when he is violently accosted by
Israeli soldiers.
Santa returns to throw stones with Palestinian youths and
dodges Israeli fire with them. The sequence ends with a
picture of Jerusalem captioned "Uprising for Peace."
Little joy was found in Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of
Jesus. Celebrations were muted by three months of violence
and terrorism, which scared away most pilgrims and visitors.
Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said only 400 visitors had
entered the city on Christmas Eve and Christmas, compared
to 10,000 who came last year, when hopes were high for
Middle East peace.
"It's a sad Christmas this year, because of the absence of
peace in the city of peace and joy," Nasser said.
At Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the Latin patriarch
(senior Roman Catholic cleric) of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah,
used his Christmas homily to promote Palestinian
nationalism.
"This is our land, to claim our freedom, among our
demolished houses and in our besieged towns and villages,
Sabbah told an audience that included Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat.
Sabbah was referring to Israel's shooting at the nearby town
of Beit Jala in retaliation for attacks by Palestinian gunmen
on homes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.
Jesus, the Palestinian Freedom Fighter?
Arafat, a Muslim, has made it a practice to attend Christmas
services to show solidarity between Muslim and Christian
Palestinians. In an effort to cement that relationship,
Palestinian leaders have identified Jesus, who was Jewish,
as "a Palestinian" “ and even on occasion as a "Palestinian
freedom fighter."
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