The Chamber of Commerce hall was packed and the intake of breath was audible as a special announcement was made to the war widows of the West Bank - Saddam Hussein would pay $US25,000 ($A47,000) to the family of each suicide bomber as an enticement for others to volunteer for martyrdom in the name of the Palestinian people.
The men at the top table then opened Mr Saddam's chequebook and as the names of 47 "martyrs" were called, family representatives went up to sign for cheques in US dollars. Those of two suicide bombers were the first to be paid the new rate of $US25,000 - it used to be $10,000 - and those whose relatives had died in other clashes with the Israeli military were given $10,000 each.
The $500,000 doled out in the impoverished community of Tulkarm yesterday means the besieged Iraqi leader now has contributed more than $US10 million to Palestinian families since the new intifada started in September, 2000.
But the timing of this clear signal that Mr Saddam is stoking the Middle East conflict with his increased bonus to encourage more suicide bombers could make it more difficult for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to manage his already strained relationship with Washington.
Because the Palestinians and the Israelis have been unable to agree to a ceasefire in US-brokered talks that began in Jerusalem the week before last, Mr Arafat may be denied an opportunity to put the Palestinian case directly to US Vice-President Dick Cheney. The Israelis are also yet to decide if they will lift his effective house arrest to allow him to travel to Beirut for tomorrow's Arab leaders' summit, which is to discuss a Saudi plan to end the crisis.
And now, the US and Israel will have the opportunity to accuse Mr Arafat of being in the embrace of two of US President George Bush's three "axis of evil" countries - Iraq and Iran. The New York Times reported on Sunday the suspicion of US and Israeli intelligence agencies that Mr Arafat had developed an alliance with Teheran to import weapons worth millions to be used by Palestinian fighters.
Mr Arafat has denied any knowledge of a recent shipment of Iranian arms seized by the Israelis on its way to Palestinian territory. But he may be hard-pressed to deny knowledge of a public ceremony on his own territory, during which supporters of President Saddam handed out $500,000 and encouraged others to become suicide bombers with the blessing of the Iraqi leader.
The US will also be keen to use President Saddam's provocative intrusion into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as another reason for its planned military strike on Iraq.
Yesterday's ceremony at Tulkarm, about 90 kilometres north of Jerusalem, was the first public distribution organised by the Arab Liberation Front, a PLO faction aligned with President Saddam's Baath party. Previously the cheques were privately delivered by ALF officials to the homes of "martyr" families.
Later, a senior ALF official, Maa'moon Tayeh, told The Age that the extra $US15,000 was to encourage more Palestinians to volunteer as suicide bombers to help "confirm the legitimacy of our national questions".
He said: "Saddam Hussein considers Palestine to be a governate of Iraq and he thinks the same of the Palestinian martyrs as he does of Iraqi martyrs - they all are martyrs for the whole Arab nation."
Dr Hassan Khraisheh, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council who told the crowd he had just returned from a solidarity conference in Baghdad, said that some families believed the money should be sent back to Iraq because of the hardships imposed by sanctions and that others used the money to "buy weapons to defend Palestine".
He praised Iraq as the only Arab nation to officially donate to the Palestinian cause. "The Saudis used to give $4000 to the martyrs, but now it depends on public donations. Saddam Hussein's $25,000 is a message to those who might offer themselves as martyrs that their families will be supported - they have wives and children and some of them are very poor."
