The situation of Palestinian groups in Damascus remains uncertain after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad left the country. The assassination of a Hamas commander in southern Syria by Israel and the evacuation of Palestinian groups’ training camps further complicate the power struggle in the region. While groups seeking cooperation with the new Syrian government prepare for a possible exodus from Beirut, important developments are taking place on the Palestinian scene.
Just days after former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad left the regime and flew to Moscow, attention has turned to the ties of many of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) leaders to Palestinian groups that have been in the Ba’ath Party’s orbit for more than half a century, particularly the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP-GC), known for its closeness to the former Assad regime.
The General Command has also fought alongside Assad’s forces in multiple battles against opposition groups in Damascus, unlike Hamas, which has been on bad terms with Assad since 2011.
According to Al-Arabiya, Palestinian groups evacuated the training camps belonging to the General Command, Saiqa, and Fatah al-Intifada groups on the outskirts of Damascus.
It was also reported that the groups left the equipment and weapons in these bases, which are now in the hands of the groups that seized power. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Damascus continues to operate normally.
The Palestinian groups in question said their offices still operate inside the camps and that they have not been subjected to any interference. Meetings are held in the camps and at the Palestinian embassy in Damascus.
The sources also said that, except for Palestinian groups close to the Assad regime, officials from other groups had not received any complaints about any interference or pressure on Palestinian refugee camps and committees in Aleppo and Damascus during the past week.
Many Palestinian officials said, “The new authorities in Damascus do not bother us and we are ready to cooperate with them.”
Palestinian sources said Hamas had created a Palestinian umbrella for the groups in Damascus in order to avoid any crisis between the Palestinians and the new Syrian government.
Palestinian officials living in Damascus had recently moved to Beirut as a precautionary measure due to concerns that they could fall into the hands of opposition groups.
Hundreds of Palestinian fighters who have been fighting alongside opposition groups in Idlib for the past few years also accompanied the armed groups that arrived in Damascus last week.
Yesterday, clashes broke out near a General Command post in the town of Qusaya in the Bekaa Valley (Eastern Lebanon) on the Syrian-Lebanese border between armed groups close to the new Syrian regime and Palestinian groups close to the Assad regime.
