Published : 15-01-2025
The Action Group | Syria
The events in Syria clarify that there is no change in the legal status or any changes related to the Palestinians of Syria, but the matter is different with the factions and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which witnessed major transformations that the factions lived through for many years under the defunct Syrian regime.
The Palestinian Embassy
The Palestinian Embassy in Syria continues its work as a diplomatic representation of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and the Palestine Liberation Organization office continues to carry out its duties normally in Damascus. The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted the Palestinian Ambassador to Syria, Samir Al-Rifai, as asking, “How will the new Syrian leadership deal with the Palestinian issue? We do not have any information because we have not communicated with each other yet.”
Palestinian factions:
Palestinian sources revealed to the Al-Nashra website on December 15 that the Palestinian factions received a message of “assurance” from the “Syrian Opposition Military Operations Department” that they would not be attacked after the fall of the regime, after Hamas entered into mediation with Turkish officials, and through them with “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham”, and received “assurances” that the Palestinian people and Palestinian forces would be neutralized, and that their leaders and offices would not be harmed. A Palestinian source close to the Popular Front - General Command told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that relevant parties in the Front held meetings with various factions, which witnessed the intervention of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal with the "Military Operations Department" and the factions, to resolve issues related to some factions, specifically the "General Command" and the "Thunderbolt".
He added that an agreement was reached to arrest and hold accountable those involved in committing crimes while fighting alongside the former regime. About 20 people from the "General Command" were actually arrested, without targeting its Secretary-General Talal Naji, or the official of the "Thunderbolt" faction, Muhammad Qais.
The same source explained that they were transferred to Hama prison, noting that there were "Palestinian fighters in the ranks of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) who had been displaced to northern Syria at earlier times, and they know well the Palestinian perpetrators alongside the forces of the former regime."
Handing over headquarters and weapons
A source from Fatah Intifada told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the “Military Operations Administration” in Damascus took control of the “Thunderbolt” military headquarters in the Abbasid district of Damascus, and the office of Ahmed Jibril, which was inherited by his son Abu Al-Omrain. The administration also took control of the headquarters of Colonel Ziad Al-Saghir, the official in charge of the Fatah-Intifada movement, in Tahrir Square in Damascus, while Al-Saghir fled to Lebanon, according to the source. This headquarters was originally the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before 1983.
According to the same source, the camps of the General Command were also placed under the command of the “Military Operations Administration” and it was agreed that the members in the ranks of this administration could volunteer. The “General Command” also handed over its camps and tunnels in Lebanon to the Lebanese army.
The groups that emerged during the revolution
As for the Palestinian groups and factions in Syria that emerged with the crisis, such as the Jerusalem Brigade led by Muhammad al-Saeed, the Free Palestine Movement led by Saed Abdel Aal, and the Democratic Palestine Movement led by Mazen Shuqair, their leaders mostly fled to Lebanon. Some of them tried to settle their situation with the new authorities in Damascus. The handover of the camps was accompanied by the withdrawal of all weapons present in them and only allowing them to carry light inpidual weapons inside their offices in the camps. It is worth noting that the new administration in Syria did not interfere in the work of Palestinian popular institutions, and Palestinian charitable and relief associations continued their work inside the Palestinian camps and gatherings in Syria, most notably the "Palestinian Charitable Society", the "Jerusalem Charitable Society", the "Jafra Foundation", the "Nour Foundation for Relief and Development", the "Palestine Student Association", the "Fatah Youth Association", the "Palestinian Red Crescent", the "Union of Palestinian Jurists", and many popular and social institutions in the Palestinian camps. The "Palestine Development Authority" also entered from northern Syria after the fall of the regime and began its work in the Palestinian camps.
The Action Group | Syria
The events in Syria clarify that there is no change in the legal status or any changes related to the Palestinians of Syria, but the matter is different with the factions and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which witnessed major transformations that the factions lived through for many years under the defunct Syrian regime.
The Palestinian Embassy
The Palestinian Embassy in Syria continues its work as a diplomatic representation of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and the Palestine Liberation Organization office continues to carry out its duties normally in Damascus. The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted the Palestinian Ambassador to Syria, Samir Al-Rifai, as asking, “How will the new Syrian leadership deal with the Palestinian issue? We do not have any information because we have not communicated with each other yet.”
Palestinian factions:
Palestinian sources revealed to the Al-Nashra website on December 15 that the Palestinian factions received a message of “assurance” from the “Syrian Opposition Military Operations Department” that they would not be attacked after the fall of the regime, after Hamas entered into mediation with Turkish officials, and through them with “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham”, and received “assurances” that the Palestinian people and Palestinian forces would be neutralized, and that their leaders and offices would not be harmed. A Palestinian source close to the Popular Front - General Command told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that relevant parties in the Front held meetings with various factions, which witnessed the intervention of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal with the "Military Operations Department" and the factions, to resolve issues related to some factions, specifically the "General Command" and the "Thunderbolt".
He added that an agreement was reached to arrest and hold accountable those involved in committing crimes while fighting alongside the former regime. About 20 people from the "General Command" were actually arrested, without targeting its Secretary-General Talal Naji, or the official of the "Thunderbolt" faction, Muhammad Qais.
The same source explained that they were transferred to Hama prison, noting that there were "Palestinian fighters in the ranks of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) who had been displaced to northern Syria at earlier times, and they know well the Palestinian perpetrators alongside the forces of the former regime."
Handing over headquarters and weapons
A source from Fatah Intifada told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the “Military Operations Administration” in Damascus took control of the “Thunderbolt” military headquarters in the Abbasid district of Damascus, and the office of Ahmed Jibril, which was inherited by his son Abu Al-Omrain. The administration also took control of the headquarters of Colonel Ziad Al-Saghir, the official in charge of the Fatah-Intifada movement, in Tahrir Square in Damascus, while Al-Saghir fled to Lebanon, according to the source. This headquarters was originally the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before 1983.
According to the same source, the camps of the General Command were also placed under the command of the “Military Operations Administration” and it was agreed that the members in the ranks of this administration could volunteer. The “General Command” also handed over its camps and tunnels in Lebanon to the Lebanese army.
The groups that emerged during the revolution
As for the Palestinian groups and factions in Syria that emerged with the crisis, such as the Jerusalem Brigade led by Muhammad al-Saeed, the Free Palestine Movement led by Saed Abdel Aal, and the Democratic Palestine Movement led by Mazen Shuqair, their leaders mostly fled to Lebanon. Some of them tried to settle their situation with the new authorities in Damascus. The handover of the camps was accompanied by the withdrawal of all weapons present in them and only allowing them to carry light inpidual weapons inside their offices in the camps. It is worth noting that the new administration in Syria did not interfere in the work of Palestinian popular institutions, and Palestinian charitable and relief associations continued their work inside the Palestinian camps and gatherings in Syria, most notably the "Palestinian Charitable Society", the "Jerusalem Charitable Society", the "Jafra Foundation", the "Nour Foundation for Relief and Development", the "Palestine Student Association", the "Fatah Youth Association", the "Palestinian Red Crescent", the "Union of Palestinian Jurists", and many popular and social institutions in the Palestinian camps. The "Palestine Development Authority" also entered from northern Syria after the fall of the regime and began its work in the Palestinian camps.
