Ha'aretz (www.haaretzdaily.com) reports that in a recent poll it turns out that over 80% of Palestinians would back Iraq and Saddam Hussein if the U.S. attacked.

A random sample of 1,000 Palestinians aged 18 and over were asked "How far do you support the notion that the Palestinians must support Iraq as they did in 1991, if the United States strikes again?"

The survey found 51.6 percent strongly agreed and 28.3 somewhat agreed, for a total of 79.9 percent in favor.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat sided with Iraq during the Gulf War. During the conflict, Palestinians stood on their roofs and cheered as Iraqi Scud missiles struck Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. A popular Palestinian chant called on Saddam Hussein to destroy Tel Aviv.

The Iraqi ruler, for his part, has been supporting the Palestinians in their current conflict with Israel, notably by sending up to $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers.

I copy the full article below.

Poll: 80% of Palestinians would back Iraq if U.S. atttack
By The Associated Press
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/
ShArt.jhtmlitemNo=188738&contrassID=1&
subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0

Almost 80 percent of Palestinians believe they should support Iraq as they did during the 1991 Gulf War if the United States launches renewed military action against the country, according to a poll published Friday.

The survey was conducted in March by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion. It was not published at the time because IDF soldiers and Palestinians were fighting in West Bank cities, said the center's director, Dr. Nabil Kukali.

"The Palestinians had such problems then that the time was not right," he said.

A random sample of 1,000 Palestinians aged 18 and over were asked "How far do you support the notion that the Palestinians must support Iraq as they did in 1991, if the United States strikes again?"

The survey found 51.6 percent strongly agreed and 28.3 somewhat agreed, for a total of 79.9 percent in favor.

Only 3.6 percent were strongly opposed to the proposition and 6.9 percent were somewhat against it, which gives a total of 10.5 percent against. The survey said 9.6 percent of those asked didn't know.

The margin of error was plus or minus 3.09 percentage points.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat sided with Iraq during the Gulf War. During the conflict, Palestinians stood on their roofs and cheered as Iraqi Scud missiles struck Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. A popular Palestinian chant called on Saddam Hussein to destroy Tel Aviv.

The Iraqi ruler, for his part, has been supporting the Palestinians in their current conflict with Israel, notably by sending up to $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers.