Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has urged Arab states to draw up a strategy to counter any Israeli escalation in the face of the Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, newspapers reported Wednesday.
"The Zionist entity could at any time annex more Arab territories. We should not rule out this possibility," he told a cabinet meeting late Tuesday. "Israel could also decide to expel the Palestinians."
Saddam urged Arab states to "draw up a plan to face up" to such Israeli actions, warning of the alleged expansionist aims of the Jewish state.
The Arabs "should not leave the initiative to the Zionist entity which knows exactly what it wants, while the Arabs need a lot of time to coordinate politically and militarily," he said.
Saddam also forecast that the Palestinians would not abandon their new Intifada, and predicted Yasser Arafat would return to his role as guerrilla leader rather than US-approved statesman.
"The difficult situation of the Palestinian people could lead President Yasser Arafat ... to get rid of the heritage (the US-brokered peace process) which damages him and return to the path of revolutionary leaders," he said – BAGHDAD (AFP)
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