| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syria closes offices of Palestinian groups |
| 2004-09-25 |
| Has Dr. Assad seen the hand writing on the wall in the direction of 'ally' Iran? Or is this more window dressing for the West?) Syria has closed down all offices and cut off phone lines belonging to radical Palestinian groups in Damascus, a Palestinian official announced over the weekend. Khaled Fahoum, the former Speaker of the Palestine National Council (the PLO's parliament-in-exile), said the leaders of the Palestinian groups had gone underground for fear of being targeted by Israel. (Maybe these Pal jihad boys will book flights for Tehran and step up shop there. Having all the slithering rats in one place when the boom drops would benefit the whole world.) The London-based Al Hayat newspaper quoted senior Syrian government officials as confirming that the leaders of the Palestinian groups had left Syria. Palestinian sources said the groups were planning to move to Qatar, Tunis or Bahrain. The three countries have agreed in principle to host the Palestinian groups after Egypt turned down a similar request. The Gulf states should think twice about allow additional fanatics into their oil rich kingdoms.) Syria has been under heavy pressure from the US to close down the offices of 10 Palestinian groups based in Damascus, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Popular Front-General Command (headed by Ahmed Jibril) and Fatah-Intifadah (headed by Abu Musa Maragha). (What a line up of the most dangerous terror groups) Fahoum is the first senior official to announce the close of the Palestinian offices in Damascus. Syria has in the past claimed that the groups did not have any military bases in Damascus and were not involved in terrorism. However, the Syrian authorities described the offices used by the groups as "media centers." LOL Last year the Syrian authorities announced that the "media centers" had also been shut, but it later transpired that they were continuing to function. Unconfirmed reports in the Arab media have suggested that Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was considering moving to Iran. According to the reports, the Syrian government recently asked Mashaal to start searching for a new country that would agree to host him. Last week Mashaal was summoned to Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials about the future of the Gaza Strip after Israel's planed withdrawal from the area. He is also said to have raised the issue of his relocation during talks with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman. Mashaal's deputy, Musa Abu Marzuk, is also reported to have left Syria, but his new address remains unknown. A third senior Hamas official, Mohammed Nazzal, is also believed to have been expelled from Syria. Imad Alami, the movement's "operations officer," is still in Syria, but will leave soon, a Hamas source revealed. Ahmed Al Haj, a spokesman for the Syrian Ministry of Information, said in response to reports that Syria had asked Mashaal and his aides to leave the country: "This is a very personal and legal matter and he can go anywhere he wants. He can choose where to live and he has several options." Palestinian sources said that Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah has also left Syria to an unknown destination. If this continues Iran will not have any friends... Jihad this! |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #4 There appears to be actual movement in the Syrian position. I wonder if it was the French that played the role that the British played with Libya. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-25 6:22:06 PM |
| #3 2B, I don't think Syria was worried about you being blown away. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-09-25 5:14:39 PM |
| #2 However, the Syrian authorities described the offices used by the groups as "media centers." This statement actually makes a degree of sense. But only if the word "media" is used in the microbiological sense, as in; "The anthrax culture was grown in a nutrient-rich media." Qatar, Tunis and Bahrain all need to be read the riot act. As mentioned above, we want all of these maggots clustered in Iran when the fur begins to fly. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-25 4:54:04 PM |
| #1 this "sudden" cooperation blows me away. |
| Posted by: 2B 2004-09-25 4:16:23 PM |