logo
Syria Detains Damascus-Based Leader of Prominent Palestinian Faction

Syria Detains Damascus-Based Leader of Prominent Palestinian Faction

Asharq Al-Awsat03-05-2025

Syria on Saturday detained a prominent Damascus-based Palestinian official whose group was close to the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
Talal Naji, 79, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, or PFLP-GC, was detained Saturday morning shortly after he left his house with a driver and two guards, a Palestinian official told The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that shortly after Naji was detained near his home in the Mazze neighborhood, security officials came to his home and questioned two unarmed guards for about an hour.
A Syrian government official told the AP that Naji was taken for questioning and should be released later. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The PFLP-GC became known for dramatic attacks against Israel, including the hijacking an El Al jetliner in 1968 and the machine gunning of another airliner at Zurich airport in 1969. In 1970, it planted a bomb on a Swissair jet that blew up on a flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv, killing all 47 on aboard.
Naji's arrest comes nearly two weeks after Syrian authorities detained two members of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. The group identified the two officials arrested at the time as its leader in Syria Khaled Khaled and another senior official Yasser Zafari. The Islamic Jihad took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Under Assad, several Palestinians factions were based in Syria and some of them remained after the fall of his 54-year Assad family in December.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Iran Says it Executed 9 ISIS Militants Detained after a 2018 Attack
Iran Says it Executed 9 ISIS Militants Detained after a 2018 Attack

Asharq Al-Awsat

time39 minutes ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Iran Says it Executed 9 ISIS Militants Detained after a 2018 Attack

Iran said Tuesday it executed nine militants of ISIS group detained after a 2018 attack. The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency announced the executions, saying that the death sentences had been upheld by the country's top court, The AP news reported. It described the militants as being detained after they were in a clash in the country's western region with Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, in which three troops and several ISIS militants were killed. Authorities said they had seized a cache of combat weapons, including a machine gun and 50 grenades, after surrounding the militants' hideout. Iran carries out executions by hanging. In the past eight months, it has executed an average of one person every six hours, according to Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of advocacy group Iran Human Rights. He said Tuesday's executions were issued without fair trials and that there have been no updates about seven others reportedly detained in the 2018 attack. ISIS, which once held vast territory across Iraq and Syria in a self-described caliphate it declared in 2014, was ultimately beaten back by US-led forces. It has since been in disarray, though it has mounted major assaults. In Iran's neighbor Afghanistan, for instance, ISIS is believed to have grown in strength since the fall of the Western-backed government there to the Taliban in 2021. The group previously claimed a June 2017 attack in Tehran on parliament and a mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. It has claimed other attacks in Iran, including two suicide bombings in 2024 targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 US drone strike. That assault killed at least 94 people. The clash with Revolutionary Guardsmen in 2018 marked a point of heightened tensions between Iran and the militant group. Iran launched ballistic missiles at parts of eastern Syria, vowing revenge after militants disguised themselves as soldiers and opened fire at a military parade in the Islamic Republic's southwest. That attack killed at least 25 people and was claimed by both ISIS and local separatists.

France Says it Obtains Palestinian Reform Pledge ahead of Conference
France Says it Obtains Palestinian Reform Pledge ahead of Conference

Asharq Al-Awsat

time2 hours ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

France Says it Obtains Palestinian Reform Pledge ahead of Conference

France said on Tuesday it had obtained new commitments from the Palestinian Authority to reform, ahead of a conference next week at which Paris could become the most prominent Western power to back recognition of an independent Palestinian state. President Emmanuel Macron has received a letter from Mahmoud Abbas in which the Palestinian president condemns the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack against Israel, calls on all hostages to be released and pledges further reforms, the Elysee said, Reuters reported. Abbas, 89, has headed the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004. The letter to Macron, who is working on organizing an international conference with Saudi Arabia to discuss recognition of Palestine, contains "unprecedented" pledges, Macron's office said, without elaborating. "Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces, which will oversee their removal outside the Occupied Palestinian territory, with Arab and international support," the French leader's office quoted Abbas as having written in the letter. Israel has said it will not accept any role for the PA in Gaza after the war and has denounced countries that consider recognizing Palestinian independence, which it says would reward Hamas for its attacks. French officials have said Macron is leaning towards recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of the UN conference which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting from June 17-20.

Israeli Left-wing Leader Calls for Immediate End to Gaza War
Israeli Left-wing Leader Calls for Immediate End to Gaza War

Leaders

time4 hours ago

  • Leaders

Israeli Left-wing Leader Calls for Immediate End to Gaza War

Israeli left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government no longer represented the majority of Israelis, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, according to Arab News. 'Today the government of Israel doesn't represent the vast majority of Israelis,' Golan said. He added that after over 20 months of fighting, Israel 'should end the war as soon as possible'. Golan also stated that Netanyahu's government — one of the most right-wing in Israel's history – represented a threat to democracy. 'The vast majority wants to keep Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and at the same time a free, egalitarian and democratic state,' Golan said. In this regard, he said he represents those 'who want to save Israeli democracy… from a corrupted future' and from the 'messianic-like and nationalistic and extremist vision of a very small faction in the Israeli society'. As for the ongoing war on Gaza, Golan said 'we can reach a hostages deal in a matter of days.' 'I believe that by ending the war and freeing the hostages, we will be able to build an alternative to Hamas inside the Gaza Strip,' he added. Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 118,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Related Topics: Protesters Gather in Rome for Immediate End to Gaza War Israel to Block Entry of Madleen Aid Ship Heading to Gaza Brazilian President Describes Israel War on Gaza as 'Premeditated Genocide' Short link : Post Views: 6

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store