The arrest of Saddam Hussein sent a clear message that dictatorship in the Middle East was bound to fail, Israel's top diplomatic official said during a visit to Dublin yesterday.
Ambassador Yoav Biran, director general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: "It is a contribution to a happier, freer and more stable Iraq, a more stable Arab world, a more stable Middle East and a more stable international system. It sends a clear message that regimes of the kind of Saddam Hussein have no future and no hope.
"It is sending a very encouraging message to people in the Middle East and elsewhere that dictatorships of this kind are doomed to fail and that they can think more positively about free democratic societies." Asked should Saddam be charged for Scud attacks on Israel, he said: "I would not propose him for a Nobel Prize for that, but I don't think the problem of any court that will have to judge Saddam is the scarcity of items on which to base their charge-sheet."
Mr Biran was meeting Department of Foreign Affairs officials on issues connected with Ireland's European presidency. "The state of our bilateral relations with Ireland is not terribly satisfactory, it leaves a lot to be desired. But we believe these relations can be improved, there is a potential for improvement and my visit here is forward looking."