Peres claims defeat of Saddam will be welcomed by the Arab world

Shimon Peres, the former prime minister of Israel, has offered strong backing for the war against Iraq, saying an Allied victory against Saddam Hussein would be a triumph for the whole Arab world.

In a hawkish speech yesterday, the Nobel peace prize winner said there was "no greater killer" than President Saddam and he accused anti-war protesters of displaying double standards.

But Mr Peres warned that splits between Western powers could "deepen conflict" in the Middle East, despite the imminent publication of an American-backed "road-map" to address the Israeli-Palestinian issue by 2005. He welcomed efforts by the "quartet" of the United Nations, the US, the European Union and Russia to draw up the plan for a settlement and persuade the Palestinian Authority to reform.

Mr Peres told a meeting organised by the left-of-centre Institute of Public Policy Research think-tank that the fall of President Saddam would be welcomed across the Arab world. "I'm convinced that this is the unavoidable way to free the world from terrorism," he said. "The victory of the United States and Great Britain will help to liberate the Muslim world and liberate the Arab world and in some way it will be their victory too.

"There is no greater killer in our time than Saddam Hussein," he added. "I'm not impressed by the demonstrators. When Saddam Hussein gassed 100,000 innocent Kurds nobody demonstrated. When he attacked Iran and a million people lost their lives, nobody demonstrated. When he invaded Kuwait, nobody demonstrated.

"I don't think people went to war because they were trigger happy or because they wanted to get any material. I don't believe a single American or Briton wants to stay on Iraqi soil. But they have to face the danger. There is nobody else to do it." Mr Peres added: "Where was the public opinion during all the massacres, all the dictatorships, all the killings, all the terror. Why should we take it so nicely? Why should we be impressed by it?"

He was highly critical of the UN, especially the appointment of Libya to chair the UN human rights commission, and he questioned the role of Syria on the Security Council.

The former Israeli leader said: "I think somebody has to handle the situation or we would let the world run wild. The crucial meeting is between terrorist and mass-destruction weapons. If they get hold of it, it will be extremely difficult."