Arms from Iraq, Iran found near Arafat HQ

The IDF has discovered weapons smuggled from Iraq and Iran in the Muqata complex surrounding the Ramallah office of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, according to Israel defense sources.

The weapons uncovered during Operation Defensive Shield include Soviet-made RPG launchers that were modified by Iraq. The defense sources said the Iraqi weaponry was probably smuggled into the territories in Arafat's helicopters, which have since been damaged and grounded by the IDF.

The army also found Iranian-made RPG anti-tank rockets in the Muqata area. These rockets feature improved capabilities for piercing armor. Following the capture of the Karine A arms shipment from Iran in January, the Palestinians have continued their efforts to smuggle weaponry into the PA, defense sources said, noting that Iran and Iraq remain the primary arms suppliers for the Palestinians.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein recently announced that Iraq would increase the amount of money it sends to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

I am having a bit of trouble with the impression you are trying to leave with some of your posts. Your posts would have us believe that the Palestinians are some type of indegenous people, they aren't, they are Arabs which own and control 95% of the middle east (the richest part) and that Palestine is a country, it isn't, though part of it encompases what recently has been know as Jordan (Trans Jordan) it more accurately comprises historical Israel (No one disputes the historical roots of Jerusalem and Bethelehem in traditional and scriptural jewish writing, which is absent in all parallel documentation from the Arabs). The term Palestine is a transliteration of the word Philistines which were the indigenous people of the are that were defeated by the Isralies over 1,000 years before Christ. I might add that the Arab's (Palestinians) are not descendents from the Philistines, the only group that could potentially argue "prior claim" on the territory. The current Arab occupation of Palestine occured as Arab nations sent their nationals to live in historic Israel following the Balfour declaration to blunt and compromise the "return" of the natural descendants of the area. This is a far different claim from the "right of return" that the Palestinians now assert, which is merely descendants of the post Balfor Declaration Arabian settlers. I find the continual refrence to the term "occupied territories" dangerously humorous whereby the world seems to think this "occupation" is legitimate grounds for the homocide bombers. It all fails to take into account the Arab provocations of 1917, 1947, 1948, 1967, 1978 and multiple intifidas since then. It also fails to take into account the charters of the organizations such as the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah, Islamic Jihad. It is time the truely innocent arab victims in historic Israel wake up to see just who is provoking their misery.

Sorry. I'm in the camp of "what's happening right now". We have real, live human beings involved. None of them lived there in ancient times. A lot of them moved there relatively recently, but I think you would find that the majority of Israelis and the majority of Palestinians were born somewhere in the Levant.

No doubt there's a lot of historic and cultural baggage that's been inherited by these folks, but they are all entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Policies that tend in a different direction than that should be avoided. (clearly the PA has erroneous policies).

Weren't the Germans the most educated nation in the world in the 1930's?

Makes you wonder about education generally doesn't it? Look what it's doing to us.

I'm surprised to hear that claim about the Palis though, I've always thought of them as a nation of consumer electronics salesmen...

Why aren't the brave PA's carrying and using all of these arms that are being found the past few weeks?

Oh,I forgot. The management of the PA's are yellow belly cowards and only send drugged up teenagers to be suicide murderers. They know that if they picked up some of those Iraqui arms and went on the street. They would soon have a whole lot of new AH's to go with the one around their teeth.

Are you denying that all men are endowed by their creater with certain inalienable rights?

All I am doing is trying to put an American spin on the whole thing. After all, as the world's foremost power these guys are all going to try emulating us sooner or later (although not clearly at the moment).

I'd like to begin our empire on the right foot, for example we could impose the first 5 Amendments in the Bill of Rights. Might be rough to start with, but such privileges would probably destabilize those who are the most militant and ready to kill.

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