RIYADH, 31 March 2003 — Since the war on Iraq began, anti-war and anti-US sentiments are running high among Saudis. Text messages on cellular phones ridicule President George Bush and laud Iraq’s people, saying they’re the “victims of the ‘stubborn’ missiles between the United States and the (Iraqi) regime.”

The citizens have found unique ways to vent their anger against the United States and express their disgust with a war that many believe is unjust.

Such passionate expressions of support for Iraq may sound strange but it’s not only about Iraq. It’s also about the United States, a country they feel has consistently betrayed them with its unconditional support for Israel. Many Saudis feel that attacking Iraq is the first US step toward controlling the entire Arab world.

In the minds of many Saudis the war on Iraq has become intertwined with the Israeli-Palestinian violence, with many drawing parallels between Bush’s Iraq policies and those of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government toward the Palestinians.

In Al-Madina daily a whole page on Thursday showed pictures of Iraqis carrying their dead, cringing with fear and inspecting damage from US-British bombardment. A headline read: “Sharon’s massacres repeated by Bush in Iraqi cities.”

On Friday, Al-Watan daily placed two pictures side by side on its front page, one showing an Iraqi next to his damaged home and the other a Palestinian woman weeping for two Palestinians who fell by Israeli fire in Gaza. The caption said: “From Palestine to Iraq ... one roving tragedy ... carrying death and destruction.”

At mosques, imams denounce the US and its war on Iraq. Saudis also are getting to express their anger on the Internet, in phone messages and through e-mails.

Internet cafe owners report brisk business from people who surf for news, join chatrooms that discuss the war. They also forward messages making fun of Bush.

Some voices caution Saudis not to get too carried away and turn Saddam Hussein into a hero.

“The pretense of liberating the Iraqi people may be a smoke screen for the arrogant exercise of power or the personal goals of the American president or those of the cabal surrounding him,” wrote Turki Al-Hamad in Asharq Al-Awsat.

“But we should not forget that Saddam Hussein and his men have committed unprecedented crimes against the Iraqi people and the Arabs, competing in acts of ruthlessness surpassing in evil those of the tyrants of the past,” he added.