SAUDI GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED DAILY PRAISES PASSOVER AND JERUSALEM SUPERMARKET SUICIDE BOMBERS

Saudi government-controlled daily praises Passover and Jerusalem supermarket suicide bombers
MEMRI
April 10, 2002

In a recent article for the Saudi government-controlled daily Al-Jazirah, columnist Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Al-Sa'adat applauded the actions of 'Abd Al-Baset 'Oudeh, the Palestinian who detonated himself at a Passover 'Seder' in a Netanya hotel, and Ayat Al-Akhras, who carried out a suicide attack in a Jerusalem supermarket. Following are excerpts from the article:[1]

Praising the Passover Bomber

"May Allah have mercy upon you, oh 'Abd Al-Baset 'Oudeh, mujaheed and martyr, the quiet hero who infiltrated so elegantly and spoke so gaily. You defended your religion, your homeland, and your people. You attached no importance to [any] Arab summit; you did not wait for international agreements; you did not follow television interviews; you did not pause because of dead Arab and international reactions that neither help nor hinder."

"Courageously, full of willingness to [wage] Jihad, and with faith filling your heart, you executed your assignment and sacrificed your pure soul for your religion and your homeland. The Israeli tanks did not strike you with dread; the Israeli military, armed to the teeth with all types of modern weaponry, did not move a hair on your head; the prime minister of this aggressive state that occupies your land and your homeland did not frighten you; Israeli intelligence, experts in terrorist espionage and treacherous collaboration, did not expose you."

"You could not stand the killing, the destruction, and the exile carried out by the Zionist army... You knew that the Zionists do not honor treaties, promises, and agreements, and understand only the language of resistance and Jihad."

"You rose up like the rest of your mujahideen brothers, took matters into your own hands, and did not wait for Arab or international help that might never arrive, and if it did would be no more than words of condemnation and demand."

"May Allah have mercy on you, oh beloved of the Arab nation, oh 'Abd Al-Baset. You evoked hope that had begun to dissipate; you restored life that had begun to expire; you revived the Arab pride, valor, chivalry, and sacrifice that had begun to die, and you caused pain to [the people] who had begun to celebrate and sing atop the bodies of the children, youths, and mothers of your people."

"You entered silently, with the faith and confidence with which Allah inspired you. Despite all the obstacles, fortifications, and security measures, you reached [the appointed place], sat down at one of the tables, talked, told a few jokes, and laughed with them, and then Allah decreed for you a martyr's death. What heroism, courage, and strength – almost unmatched on the face of the earth!"

PRAISING THE SUPERMARKET BOMBER

"May Allah have mercy on you, oh Ayat Al-Akhras. You left your home for the path of martyrdom and Paradise. Your family knew not where you were headed, and knew not that you had chosen the way of martyrdom. There was nothing to stop you... You proceeded with a determination, will, and strength rarely found, even impossible to find, in a 16-year-old girl…"

"You sought not the counsel of the American, French, or Russian governments; you sought not a green or red light from them; rather, you knew that the hand of Allah is supreme, that soul-sacrifice is the highest form of Jihad, and that he who sacrifices reaches the highest level of Paradise. You were not tempted by and did not rejoice in the life of this world, oh beloved of the Arab nations of 16 springs [i.e. 16 years]. Marriage was before you; you were a girl engaged and looking forward to finishing your studies in order to wed – except you chose Allah, Paradise, and martyrdom. You taught the Arab nation a lesson almost never taught in the schools and universities, and you breathed your last [breath] and evoked [in us] sensations that had begun to disappear..."

"You raised our heads high and told the oppressing world, biased towards Zionism, that a young girl had infiltrated [into] Israeli society despite the tight security closure, and had profoundly shaken it without tank, missile, or rifle – [merely] with her small, pure soul. You say to us, 'Despair not; it is simpler than you think. Be filled with faith in Allah, with a quest for Jihad and martyrdom.'"

"May Allah have mercy on you, oh 'Abd Al-Baset, Ayat, and all the male and female mujahideen. We ask Allah that the angels welcome you as righteous martyrs, and beseech Allah to give you the highest level of Paradise."

[1] Al-Jazirah (Saudi Arabia), April 1, 2002.

 

SAUDI ARABIA SETS ASIDE $50M FOR 'MARTYRS'

Saudi Arabia Sets Aside $50M For 'Martyrs'
By Pamela Hess
United Press International (UPI)
April 9, 2002

The Saudi Arabian government has paid out at least $33 million to families of Palestinians killed or injured in the 17-month-old intifada and in December 2001 earmarked another $50 million for the payments, according to Arabic news agencies and the Saudi Embassy's Web site.

Similar payments promised by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein have drawn sharp condemnation from U.S. President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The Saudi Committee for Support of the Al-Aqsa Intifada distributes payments of $5,333 to the families of the dead and $4,000 to each Palestinian receiving medical treatment in Saudi hospitals. The fund is managed by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, according to the embassy.

The sum is far less than the $10,000 Iraq offers to the families of those killed and the $25,000 it gives to the kin of suicide bombers, but is nonetheless significant to the average Palestinian whose annual income is $1,575.

Saudi Arabia makes no distinction in compensation to families of suicide bombers and those killed by Israeli military action. There have been more than 50 suicide bombings since the intifada began in September 2000.

According to Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, the Islamic faith enjoins Muslims to take care of widows and especially orphans. The families of suicide bombers are just as needy as those killed by military attacks, he said.

"They want to make it sound like (all the money is for) the families of suicide bombers," Hooper told United Press International.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld professed ignorance of the Saudi fund Monday.

"I have no information whatsoever that suggests that the government of Saudi Arabia is doing what Iraq is," he said at a Pentagon news briefing.

Saudi Arabia created the fund in October 2000 at a conference of Arab nations held in Cairo, Egypt. It donated 25 percent of the $1 billion fund, $200 million of which goes for direct payments to families of the dead and injured and $800 million to fund economic development in the Palestinian territory.

As of January 2001, the Saudi government had paid $33 million to families of 2,281 prisoners and 358 "martyrs," as well as to 8,000 wounded, 1,000 handicapped and another 102 Palestinians who have been treated in the kingdom's hospitals. In addition, food hampers were distributed to more than 200,000 families, according to the embassy Web site.

The Bush administration avoided commenting on the Saudi fund but has decried the Iraqi payments – especially to suicide bombers – as inducement to murder.

"They're not martyrs," President Bush said April 4 at the White House. "They're murderers and they undermine the cause of the Palestinian people. Those governments like Iraq that reward parents for the sacrifice of their children are guilty of soliciting murder of the worst kind."

Bush and Rumsfeld charge the promised payments only serve to increase the violence.

"Here is an individual (Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein) 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. That is an example of what it is we're dealing with," Rumsfeld said last week.

Since Saddam increased the payments for suicide bombers in late March there have been more than 13 suicide attacks. That increase also coincides with Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, a military crackdown known as Operation Defensive Shield. It began March 28.

The Saudi government's press office in Washington did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.