'Black day' for Palestinians
From CNN Correspondent Ben Wedeman
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In January this year, Palestinians marched in support of Saddam Hussein.
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RAFAH, Southern Gaza (CNN) -- Gaza has always been a place where former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein found a friendly crowd.
Saddam's enmity for Israel earned him a special place in the heart of many Palestinians.
In the town of Rafah, in southern Gaza, news of his capture was met with regret, with many Palestinians marking it as a Black Day in history.
"This is a big shock," one local resident, Ahmed, told CNN.
"Saddam was a great supporter of the Palestinian cause and of all Arab people."
Even if Saddam was -- as Ahmed added -- a butcher.
Many Palestinians chose to ignore Saddam's brutality. Instead they saw him as one of the few Arab leaders who stood behind them in their conflict with Israel.
A visit to the office of the Arab Liberation Front is like an eerie trip in time and space back to Baghdad before the fall of the regime.
Here, comrade Saddam is considered a symbol for all free men in the Arab nation, front member Mohamed Al-Tahrawi told CNN.
"President Saddam Hussein -- may God protect him -- was a model of justice and good government in Iraq."
Saddam funneled his funds through the front, which gave $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers, $10,000 to the families of those killed in the intifada, and smaller sums to the wounded.
Barber Abdel Sitar Al-Darabi was a direct recipient of that support.
After his son Bilal was killed in clashes with the Israeli army, he received $10,000.
He still keeps a picture of Saddam in his shop.
"His time is up," concedes Al-Darabi. "He's finished. But it's a big loss."
With Saddam behind bars and the flow of money gone dry, his legacy here, like his posters, may fade.
