25 june 2014
A Syrian boy hit by sniper fire is treated at a hospital in Aleppo
Mahmoud Abbas said in a letter to Bashar al-Assad that his election as Syrian president will help to end the country's three-year war, Damascus said on Wednesday.
"Your election to the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic guarantees Syria's unity and sovereignty, and starts of a countdown to the end of Syria's crisis and its war against terrorism," Abbas wrote, according to the Syrian presidency's Facebook page.
The letter was the strongest expression of support yet to Assad from the Palestinian president and from his PLO since the outbreak of an uprising against the Syrian regime in March 2011.
Since then, more than 162,000 people have been killed in a savage war that began as a peaceful protest movement, but which became militarized after the Assad regime unleashed a brutal campaign to crush dissent.
Assad was kept in power for a new seven-year term by a controversial June 3 election that was held only in regime-controlled areas of Syria.
In the letter dated June 18, Abbas said the election will help to "end the crisis, and (create) political dialogue between all sides of the Syrian people, and will allow the country to recuperate its privileged position."
Abbas also expressed hopes for "progress and stability" in Syria, while wishing Assad "success".
The opposition and Western countries slammed the vote as a "farce" and as a "parody of democracy", as no opponents to the Assad regime could actually run.
The main Palestinian camp in Syria, Yarmouk, has been reduced to rubble since it was struck by all-out violence in 2013.
The camp has also been under a suffocating siege since last year, and the UN refugee agency for Palestinians is frequently blocked from accessing the area despite the dire humanitarian situation.
Rights groups say more than 100 people have died in Yarmouk since 2013 because of food and medical shortages.
Mahmoud Abbas said in a letter to Bashar al-Assad that his election as Syrian president will help to end the country's three-year war, Damascus said on Wednesday.
"Your election to the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic guarantees Syria's unity and sovereignty, and starts of a countdown to the end of Syria's crisis and its war against terrorism," Abbas wrote, according to the Syrian presidency's Facebook page.
The letter was the strongest expression of support yet to Assad from the Palestinian president and from his PLO since the outbreak of an uprising against the Syrian regime in March 2011.
Since then, more than 162,000 people have been killed in a savage war that began as a peaceful protest movement, but which became militarized after the Assad regime unleashed a brutal campaign to crush dissent.
Assad was kept in power for a new seven-year term by a controversial June 3 election that was held only in regime-controlled areas of Syria.
In the letter dated June 18, Abbas said the election will help to "end the crisis, and (create) political dialogue between all sides of the Syrian people, and will allow the country to recuperate its privileged position."
Abbas also expressed hopes for "progress and stability" in Syria, while wishing Assad "success".
The opposition and Western countries slammed the vote as a "farce" and as a "parody of democracy", as no opponents to the Assad regime could actually run.
The main Palestinian camp in Syria, Yarmouk, has been reduced to rubble since it was struck by all-out violence in 2013.
The camp has also been under a suffocating siege since last year, and the UN refugee agency for Palestinians is frequently blocked from accessing the area despite the dire humanitarian situation.
Rights groups say more than 100 people have died in Yarmouk since 2013 because of food and medical shortages.
24 june 2014
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened that Israel would carry out more assaults against Syria, following recent airstrikes and shelling against targets inside the Arab country.
Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would respond with even tougher force if Syria retaliates. “Last night we operated with great force against Syrian targets that acted against us, and if needed we will use additional force,” he told members of his extremist Likud Party. “We will continue to forcefully hurt anyone who attacks us or tries to attack us.” According to the Israeli military, airstrikes hit nine targets in Syria. Reports said that the attacks killed at least 10 people in the Arab country. |
The Israeli strikes are said to have destroyed two tanks, two artillery batteries and the headquarters of Syria’s 90th brigade.
Syria slammed the deadly attacks from the air and the ground as a “blatant violation” of its territory and urged the United Nations to condemn the aggression.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent two identical letters to the United Nations secretary-general and president of the UN Security Council, saying, “Israel carried out a new aggression on sites inside the Syrian territories on Sunday and Monday, when they fired tank shells, mortar shells, rockets at posts of Syrian law enforcement forces.”
The ministry also said that Israel’s acts of aggression “threaten the peace and security in the region and the world as a whole,” calling on the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibility toward the “dangerous” Israeli acts.
According to reports, the Israeli attacks came hours after the death of an Israeli teenager in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli forces claimed the death was apparently caused by a missile fired from Syria.
This is while al-Qaeda-linked militants are fighting the Syrian government forces and mortar rounds fired by them have hit the Golan Heights on several occasions.
Syria slammed the deadly attacks from the air and the ground as a “blatant violation” of its territory and urged the United Nations to condemn the aggression.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent two identical letters to the United Nations secretary-general and president of the UN Security Council, saying, “Israel carried out a new aggression on sites inside the Syrian territories on Sunday and Monday, when they fired tank shells, mortar shells, rockets at posts of Syrian law enforcement forces.”
The ministry also said that Israel’s acts of aggression “threaten the peace and security in the region and the world as a whole,” calling on the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibility toward the “dangerous” Israeli acts.
According to reports, the Israeli attacks came hours after the death of an Israeli teenager in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli forces claimed the death was apparently caused by a missile fired from Syria.
This is while al-Qaeda-linked militants are fighting the Syrian government forces and mortar rounds fired by them have hit the Golan Heights on several occasions.
23 june 2014
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At least 10 Syrian soldiers were killed in Israeli overnight air raids on positions near the Israeli-held Golan Heights, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Monday.
"At least 10 Syrian soldiers were killed in Israeli raids against military positions next to the occupied part of the Golan. Nine missiles were fired by aircraft and at least two tanks and two artillery batteries were destroyed," the Observatory said. The teenage son of a defense ministry contractor was killed on the Golan on Sunday when a blast hit the car he was traveling in with his father. |
The victim was named as Mohammed Qaraqra, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the northern village of Arabeh in the Galilee region, military radio said.
Israel carried out retaliatory air raids on Syrian army positions in the Golan Heights overnight after a teenager on the Israeli side was killed in an attack from Syria, the army said early Monday.
"The IDF (Israeli army) targeted nine Syrian army positions in response to the earlier attack that originated in Syria killing an Israeli teenager and injuring two other Israeli civilians," an army spokesman said.
Sunday's action marked the most serious escalation along the ceasefire line with Syria since the 1973 Middle East War, with Israel's defense minister warning Damascus would pay a "high price" for helping militants.
The targeted sites of Israel's retaliatory raids included "Syrian military headquarters and launching positions", and "direct hits were confirmed", said the statement by Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, the army's foreign press spokesman.
There were no reports of Syrian casualties.
The air raids came after the 13-year-old son of an Israeli defense ministry contractor was killed on the Golan on Sunday morning.
The victim was named as Mohammed Qaraqra, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the northern village of Arabeh in the Galilee region, military radio said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the deadly attack.
"Israel's enemies will stop at nothing," he told the dead boy's grieving father by phone, his office said.
"They won't stop at attacking civilians or even murdering children as happened this morning," Netanyahu added.
Israel's defense ministry said the boy was killed when a blast hit the car he was traveling in with his father and another contractor, both of whom were wounded.
'Unprovoked act of aggression'
Military sources said the vehicle belonged to the defense ministry and was being used "as part of construction work on the border".
Lerner said the army was "not certain if it was an explosive device, a rocket or a mortar" that hit the car, noting there was a hole in the nearby fence.
"Yesterday's attack was an unprovoked act of aggression against Israel... The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to breach Israel's sovereignty and will act in order to safeguard the civilians of the State of Israel," Lerner stressed.
"This is the most substantial incident on the border with Syria since the beginning of the civil war," he said earlier, confirming it was the first death on the Israeli side.
Residents in northern Israel heard explosions from the Syrian side of the border, the Israeli news site Ynet reported.
The army spokesman told reporters that Israeli tanks had fired at Syrian army posts shortly after the attack from Syria.
Sunday's fatal attack took place near Tel Khazeka, just south of Quneitra which is located in the center of the Golan plateau.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there was ongoing fighting in the area between Syrian military and rebels, adding regime forces had bombarded some villages in the Quneitra area.
Israel, which is still technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometers of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
Around 510 square kilometers of the plateau remains under Syrian control.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of projectiles, mostly stray, hitting the Israeli side and prompting occasional armed responses.
Over the past year, Israel has reportedly carried out a series of raids on Syrian and Hezbollah targets, but has not officially acknowledged doing so.
In March, Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian army positions just hours after a bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers on the Golan, one severely.
"The IDF (Israeli army) targeted nine Syrian army positions in response to the earlier attack that originated in Syria killing an Israeli teenager and injuring two other Israeli civilians," an army spokesman said.
Sunday's action marked the most serious escalation along the ceasefire line with Syria since the 1973 Middle East War, with Israel's defense minister warning Damascus would pay a "high price" for helping militants.
The targeted sites of Israel's retaliatory raids included "Syrian military headquarters and launching positions", and "direct hits were confirmed", said the statement by Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, the army's foreign press spokesman.
There were no reports of Syrian casualties.
The air raids came after the 13-year-old son of an Israeli defense ministry contractor was killed on the Golan on Sunday morning.
The victim was named as Mohammed Qaraqra, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the northern village of Arabeh in the Galilee region, military radio said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the deadly attack.
"Israel's enemies will stop at nothing," he told the dead boy's grieving father by phone, his office said.
"They won't stop at attacking civilians or even murdering children as happened this morning," Netanyahu added.
Israel's defense ministry said the boy was killed when a blast hit the car he was traveling in with his father and another contractor, both of whom were wounded.
'Unprovoked act of aggression'
Military sources said the vehicle belonged to the defense ministry and was being used "as part of construction work on the border".
Lerner said the army was "not certain if it was an explosive device, a rocket or a mortar" that hit the car, noting there was a hole in the nearby fence.
"Yesterday's attack was an unprovoked act of aggression against Israel... The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to breach Israel's sovereignty and will act in order to safeguard the civilians of the State of Israel," Lerner stressed.
"This is the most substantial incident on the border with Syria since the beginning of the civil war," he said earlier, confirming it was the first death on the Israeli side.
Residents in northern Israel heard explosions from the Syrian side of the border, the Israeli news site Ynet reported.
The army spokesman told reporters that Israeli tanks had fired at Syrian army posts shortly after the attack from Syria.
Sunday's fatal attack took place near Tel Khazeka, just south of Quneitra which is located in the center of the Golan plateau.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there was ongoing fighting in the area between Syrian military and rebels, adding regime forces had bombarded some villages in the Quneitra area.
Israel, which is still technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometers of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
Around 510 square kilometers of the plateau remains under Syrian control.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of projectiles, mostly stray, hitting the Israeli side and prompting occasional armed responses.
Over the past year, Israel has reportedly carried out a series of raids on Syrian and Hezbollah targets, but has not officially acknowledged doing so.
In March, Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian army positions just hours after a bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers on the Golan, one severely.
22 june 2014
Mohammed Karaka 13
A 15-year-old was killed and at least five others seriously injured when a blast hit a vehicle traveling in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday morning.
The blast, which marks the first time an Israeli has been killed in the Golan Heights since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution and civil war more than three years ago, occurred near the Israeli settlement of Tel Hazeka near the ceasefire line with Syria.
The blast hit a vehicle belonging to a Defense Ministry contractor employed by the Israeli army to reinforce the border fence, according to Israeli news site Ynet.
The victim was a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the village of Arraba in the Galilee region, and Israeli news site Ynet reported that he was joining his father to work when the blast struck their vehicle.
Initial reports suggested that it was a mortal shell, but at the time of publishing it was still not clear how the blast had occurred.
Israeli forces responded by shelling the Syrian side of the ceasefire line.
Mortars have occasionally struck the Golan Heights from Syria as a result of fighting between government forces and rebels across the border.
Israel has responded to these hits with return fire, and has at times closed areas near the border as a result of fighting near the ceasefire line between pro- and anti-government forces.
In March, a roadside bomb injured four Israeli troops near the ceasefire line, and Israel responded by bombing Syrian military posts.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights after invading Syria in the 1967 war in which it also captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
A 15-year-old was killed and at least five others seriously injured when a blast hit a vehicle traveling in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday morning.
The blast, which marks the first time an Israeli has been killed in the Golan Heights since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution and civil war more than three years ago, occurred near the Israeli settlement of Tel Hazeka near the ceasefire line with Syria.
The blast hit a vehicle belonging to a Defense Ministry contractor employed by the Israeli army to reinforce the border fence, according to Israeli news site Ynet.
The victim was a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the village of Arraba in the Galilee region, and Israeli news site Ynet reported that he was joining his father to work when the blast struck their vehicle.
Initial reports suggested that it was a mortal shell, but at the time of publishing it was still not clear how the blast had occurred.
Israeli forces responded by shelling the Syrian side of the ceasefire line.
Mortars have occasionally struck the Golan Heights from Syria as a result of fighting between government forces and rebels across the border.
Israel has responded to these hits with return fire, and has at times closed areas near the border as a result of fighting near the ceasefire line between pro- and anti-government forces.
In March, a roadside bomb injured four Israeli troops near the ceasefire line, and Israel responded by bombing Syrian military posts.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights after invading Syria in the 1967 war in which it also captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
2 june 2014
Israeli airstrikes targeted two sites in the Gaza Strip overnight Sunday, Israel's army and locals said.
A military base used by Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, was hit south of Gaza City, while another strike hit a training site west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
No injuries were reported.
Israel's army said in a statement that the "IAF aircraft targeted two terror sites in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Direct hits were confirmed."
Meanwhile in the north, Israeli troops fired across the Syrian ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights after a projectile struck Israeli territory, the military said.
"Earlier this morning, a projectile fired from Syria exploded near an Israeli position on Mount Hermon," a military spokesman told AFP, saying troops had responded with artillery fire towards the area from which it came.
Army radio said three mortar shells had been fired from Syria, although only one had struck inside Israeli-held territory.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200-square-kilometre of the Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of projectiles, mostly stray, hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional armed response.
A military base used by Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, was hit south of Gaza City, while another strike hit a training site west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
No injuries were reported.
Israel's army said in a statement that the "IAF aircraft targeted two terror sites in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Direct hits were confirmed."
Meanwhile in the north, Israeli troops fired across the Syrian ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights after a projectile struck Israeli territory, the military said.
"Earlier this morning, a projectile fired from Syria exploded near an Israeli position on Mount Hermon," a military spokesman told AFP, saying troops had responded with artillery fire towards the area from which it came.
Army radio said three mortar shells had been fired from Syria, although only one had struck inside Israeli-held territory.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200-square-kilometre of the Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of projectiles, mostly stray, hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional armed response.
19 may 2014
An injured Syrian man lies on a hospital bed following reported air strikes by government forces on May 18, 2014 in Aleppo's Al-Qatarji neighborhood
More than 162,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict broke out in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a new toll published Monday.
The Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground, said it had documented the deaths of 162,402 people.
Among them were 53,978 civilians, including 8,607 children.
The group said 42,701 members of the armed opposition had been killed, including more than 13,500 fighters from jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
The new toll includes 61,170 regime forces, 37,685 of them from the military, and 23,485 members of a pro-regime militia.
The Observatory also documented the deaths of 438 members of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which is fighting alongside the regime, and 1,224 other non-Syrian pro-regime fighters.
The toll also includes 2,891 unidentified people whose deaths the Observatory has confirmed without being able to record their identities.
The last toll from the Observatory, issued at the beginning of April, stood at just over 150,000 people.
The conflict in Syria erupted in March 2011, with peaceful anti-government protests that the authorities responded to with force.
It has also displaced nearly half the country's population.
More than 162,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict broke out in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a new toll published Monday.
The Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground, said it had documented the deaths of 162,402 people.
Among them were 53,978 civilians, including 8,607 children.
The group said 42,701 members of the armed opposition had been killed, including more than 13,500 fighters from jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
The new toll includes 61,170 regime forces, 37,685 of them from the military, and 23,485 members of a pro-regime militia.
The Observatory also documented the deaths of 438 members of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which is fighting alongside the regime, and 1,224 other non-Syrian pro-regime fighters.
The toll also includes 2,891 unidentified people whose deaths the Observatory has confirmed without being able to record their identities.
The last toll from the Observatory, issued at the beginning of April, stood at just over 150,000 people.
The conflict in Syria erupted in March 2011, with peaceful anti-government protests that the authorities responded to with force.
It has also displaced nearly half the country's population.
11 may 2014
A picture taken on May 11, 2014 from the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights shows smoke billowing from an explosion during clashes between rebels and Syrian pro-government forces in the Syrian town of al-Kahtaniyya
Israel's army on Sunday declared part of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights a closed military zone, fearing battles on the Syrian side would spill over the ceasefire line.
An army spokeswoman told AFP the area around the Quneitra crossing was closed "for security reasons."
Speaking to AFP, security sources said they feared fighting between rebels and Syrian army forces would affect the area.
Rebels in southern Syria set up earlier this year the so-called Southern Front, including some 30,000 fighters from more than 55 mainstream rebel groups, and have claimed successes, notably in Quneitra.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
In March, Israeli aircraft struck inside Syria in the wake of a bomb attack on the Golan which wounded four soldiers.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli-occupied side, prompting an occasional armed response.
Israel's army on Sunday declared part of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights a closed military zone, fearing battles on the Syrian side would spill over the ceasefire line.
An army spokeswoman told AFP the area around the Quneitra crossing was closed "for security reasons."
Speaking to AFP, security sources said they feared fighting between rebels and Syrian army forces would affect the area.
Rebels in southern Syria set up earlier this year the so-called Southern Front, including some 30,000 fighters from more than 55 mainstream rebel groups, and have claimed successes, notably in Quneitra.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
In March, Israeli aircraft struck inside Syria in the wake of a bomb attack on the Golan which wounded four soldiers.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli-occupied side, prompting an occasional armed response.
5 may 2014
The Action Group for Palestinians in Syria documented the death of 89 Palestinian refugees in Syria during last April. The Action Group said in a statement on Monday that the refugees were killed due to the ceaseless shelling, siege, confrontations, torture, and medical neglect Palestinian refugee camps have been subject to.
The living conditions in the Yarmouk refugee camp have become extremely dire due to the siege imposed by Syrian regime forces and armed Popular Front groups for 10 uninterrupted months.
As for the field circumstances, Hindrat refugee camp in Aleppo was targeted with explosive barrels, resulting in a remarkable damage to the civilians’ homes. Most of the refugees left the camp due to the violent clashes and heavy shelling.
A mortar shell landed in Neirab refugee camp in Aleppo leading to material damage.
Military airplanes hanged over the Deraa camp for Palestinian refugees, in south Syria, at a time when violent confrontations erupted in the camp’s vicinity. The camp had been further targeted with several shells.
In a related context, 49 Palestinian refugees were deported and sent back to Syria by the Lebanese authorities on Sunday.
Lebanese General Security forces arrested them at Al-Hariri airport while they were on their way to an Arab country.
Along the same line, three Palestinian youngsters, who fled the Syrian conflict, are still held in the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees on the Lebanese-Syrian borders.
The Action Group for Palestinians in Syria and the Palestinian Human Rights Organization denounced such deportation policies.
The Lebanese authorities have issued a decision officially denying asylum to Palestinian refugees in Syria.
The living conditions in the Yarmouk refugee camp have become extremely dire due to the siege imposed by Syrian regime forces and armed Popular Front groups for 10 uninterrupted months.
As for the field circumstances, Hindrat refugee camp in Aleppo was targeted with explosive barrels, resulting in a remarkable damage to the civilians’ homes. Most of the refugees left the camp due to the violent clashes and heavy shelling.
A mortar shell landed in Neirab refugee camp in Aleppo leading to material damage.
Military airplanes hanged over the Deraa camp for Palestinian refugees, in south Syria, at a time when violent confrontations erupted in the camp’s vicinity. The camp had been further targeted with several shells.
In a related context, 49 Palestinian refugees were deported and sent back to Syria by the Lebanese authorities on Sunday.
Lebanese General Security forces arrested them at Al-Hariri airport while they were on their way to an Arab country.
Along the same line, three Palestinian youngsters, who fled the Syrian conflict, are still held in the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees on the Lebanese-Syrian borders.
The Action Group for Palestinians in Syria and the Palestinian Human Rights Organization denounced such deportation policies.
The Lebanese authorities have issued a decision officially denying asylum to Palestinian refugees in Syria.
4 may 2014
A delegation representing the PLO left the West Bank for Jordan on Sunday en route to the Syrian capital where they are scheduled to check up on the conditions of Palestinian refugees in the war-torn country.
The delegation is headed by member of the PLO Executive Committee Zakariyya al-Agha who also chairs the PLO’s refugees affairs department.
In a statement Sunday, al-Agha said the visit to Syria comes to follow up decisions during previous trips.
The delegation, according to al-Agha, will work with concerned parties in Syria to try and overcome obstacles which impeded implementation of a PLO initiative to avoid involving Palestinian refugees in the ongoing conflict.
The initiative came after gunmen redeployed in the Yarmouk refugee camp and as a result the camp came under blockade again.
The delegation will also hold meetings with representatives of PLO factions in Syria.
The delegation is headed by member of the PLO Executive Committee Zakariyya al-Agha who also chairs the PLO’s refugees affairs department.
In a statement Sunday, al-Agha said the visit to Syria comes to follow up decisions during previous trips.
The delegation, according to al-Agha, will work with concerned parties in Syria to try and overcome obstacles which impeded implementation of a PLO initiative to avoid involving Palestinian refugees in the ongoing conflict.
The initiative came after gunmen redeployed in the Yarmouk refugee camp and as a result the camp came under blockade again.
The delegation will also hold meetings with representatives of PLO factions in Syria.
