US occupation forces in Iraq arrested Wednesday a senior Palestinian diplomat outside his office in Baghdad.
A witness said the Palestinian Charge D'affaires, Najah Abdul Rahman, and four other Iraqis were handcuffed by American troops, Reuters reported.
The troops, who prevented anyone from entering the Palestinian mission, said the arrested people were apprehended for carrying three unlicensed weapons.
Abdul Rahman has been serving for several years at the PLO office in Baghdad. In a recent press interview, he said that outside of Iraq everyone was certain Saddam Hussein was good to the Palestinians because it sent financial support to the families of suicide bombers and helped rebuild schools the Israeli army damaged and destroyed.
The Palestinians in Iraq, on the other hand, never got any such support from the Baghdad regime. Abdul Rahman said all the support for families in the territories was meant to win sympathy in the Arab masses for the Iraqi regime.
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
