Asharq al Awsat, an Arabic newspaper based in London, reported that “Palestinian sources in Damascus revealed to the German News Agency [DPA] that ‘Syrian security forces arrested on Sunday night/Monday the Palestinian leader Khaled Khaled, head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in Syria, and Abu Ali Yasser, head of the organizing committee for the Syrian arena in the capital, Damascus.’” This report notes that the detention of the two men came two days after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited Syria on April 18 and met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al Sharaa. […] We hope that our brothers in the Syrian government will release our brothers in their custody.” The mention of being “brothers” was a reference to the fact Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders and members were based in Damascus for many years, including the group’s leader, Ziad Nakhaleh. “The symposium was attended by dignitaries, representatives of Palestinian factions and forces, members of the Islamic Jihad Movement’s Syrian Arena Committee, Ibrahim Mu’awwad and M. Yasser Al-Zafari, and a select group of the movement’s cadres in the camp,” a report from Al Quds News noted at the time.
Author: Seth Frantzman
Published at: 2025-04-22 22:05:50
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