International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Nov. 13, 2002

The Iraqi Parliament has unanimously ‘recommended’ rejection of the latest UN Security Council Resolution ordering the elimination of all its weapons of mass destruction, contradicting the advice of Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, Uday.

The non-binding motion passed on Tuesday, however, referred the final decision to Saddam’s Revolutionary Command Council, paving the way for the President to back down and seek wider Arab support for Iraq ahead of a possible war against the US.

The open session of the Iraqi National Assembly was aired by Iraqi television and seemed to contradict earlier reports that Iraq would accept the return of UN weapons inspectors under Resolution 1441.

Parliament speaker Sa’doun Hamadi opened the special session saying, "The ill intentions in this resolution are flagrant and loud in ignoring all the work that has been achieved in past years." But members of the 250 strong National Assembly were keen not to tie the hands of the President, agreeing to support the conclusions of the Command Council, which he chairs.

Suspicion that the Saddam Hussein may be preparing to let the UN inspectors back as part of an attempt to bolster wider Arab support for his position was increased with the intervention of his eldest son Uday, who urged parliament to accept the resolution in accordance with the conclusions of the Arab League summit in Cairo this weekend.

The summit was aimed at bridging the "trust crisis" which has damaged "inter-Arab relations solidarity and joint action," according to the Moroccan foreign minister, Mohamed Benaissa, speaking in Cairo on Monday. Despite endorsing the UN request for a return of weapons inspectors to Iraq, it appears clear that the Arab League far from agrees with the Security Council’s approach to the crisis.

"It’s high time the UN looked at what Israel was doing", Yahya Mahmassani, Arab League Ambassador to the UN told the BBC on Wednesday, "send a commission to Israel to inspect their weapons", he added.

Mahmassani’s view that Israel still constitutes "the biggest threat to the Middle East and the whole world," implies that Saddam Hussein may allow new weapons inspections, in order to buy time in a bid to further unite Arab hostility against Israel.

Uday – a parliamentarian himself – argued for acceptance of the Security Council resolution only "under the umbrella of the Arab League," with the inclusion of Arab weapons inspectors on the UN team. Despite criticizing Arab countries, including Syria, which voted for the resolution in the UN, he called on them to stand with Iraq to confront any military action by the United States.

After the debate, Speaker Hamadi underlined the note of defiance struck in the parliament by saying, "it is the duty of Iraq to protect its independence and the integrity of its people."

"We will not turn the other cheek," he added referring to US threats of military action,

or accept "this provocative pretext for war."

Under the terms of the UN resolution, Saddam has until Friday to respond or face "serious consequences." In Washington, a White House spokesman dismissed the Iraqi vote as "pure political theater."

Meanwhile in northern Iraq, five people were killed in a clash between Kurdish fighters and an armed Islamic group said to be have links to al-Qaida organization.

An official in the Kurdistani National federation said that the fighters of the Islam partisans group attacked a check point near the border with Iran last week, according to Arabic news agencies.