Palestinian faction leaders are leaving Syria after being subjected to restrictions and arrests
A number of Palestinian faction leaders residing in Syria, who had close ties to the former regime and received Iranian support, recently left the capital, Damascus, after the new Syrian authorities tightened the noose on them and confiscated their assets.
A leader belonging to one of these factions, who left Damascus and preferred to remain anonymous, said that most of the leaders who received direct support from Tehran left the country, heading to several countries, most notably Lebanon.
Among the names indicated to have left are Khaled Jibril, son of the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command; Khaled Abdel Majid, Secretary-General of the Popular Struggle Front; and Ziad al Saghir, leader of the Fatah Movement – Intifada.
These factions completely handed over their weapons after the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al Assad, adding that the leaders didn’t receive official orders to leave, but faced multiple restrictions, including the confiscation of their property, the freezing of their resources, and the arrest of a number of their comrades, making it impossible for them to continue their political and military activities in Syria.
Another Palestinian source from a small faction confirmed this account, indicating that these factions are now effectively banned from operating on Syrian territory.
In a related development, an Israeli official revealed that the new Syrian government has shown goodwill gestures towards Israel, in return for similar steps from the Israeli side.
According to the official, meetings were held between representatives of the two sides under Turkish auspices, amid a positive atmosphere.
In a separate development, Palestinian sources in Damascus announced last April that Syrian security forces had arrested Khaled Khaled, the leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement, along with Abu Ali Yasser, the head of the movement’s organizational committee in Syria.
This arrest occurred less than two days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Damascus and met with the new Syrian President, Ahmad al Sharaa.
Its noteworthy that sites belonging to the Islamic Jihad movement in the capital, Damascus, have been subjected to repeated Israeli airstrikes, most notably on March 13, when a missile attack targeted the home of the movement’s secretary-general, Ziad al Nakhala, in the Dumar neighborhood north of Damascus.
