Hamza Bishtawi, Palestinian writer and media expert. Photo: Samidoun.
Dr. Talal Naji, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, was released by Syrian security officials after being detained for several hours on Saturday, 3 May 2025. All Palestinian resistance forces and factions called for Naji’s release upon the news of his detention.
However, the current Syrian administration—which took power in December 2024 after nearly 15 years of U.S. and allied imperialist sanctions and ongoing war against the Syrian people—continues to imprison two leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement: Khaled Khaled and Yasser al-Zafari.
During this period, Zionist occupation forces have invaded large sections of southern Syria and have been conducting an ongoing bombing campaign, which largely destroyed Syria’s air defenses in December 2024. On the evening of Friday, 2 May—just hours before Naji’s detention—occupation forces launched one of their largest bombing campaigns, targeting multiple Syrian governorates. The ongoing U.S. and Western sanctions on Syria remain in place, and the imperialist powers are demanding a range of concessions in exchange for sanctions relief—from repressing the Palestinian presence in Syria to normalization with the Zionist regime and even the partition of the country.
Hamza Bishtawi, a Palestinian writer and media expert, spoke with Samidoun about Naji’s arrest and detention, as well as the current situation for Palestinians in Syria.
“The United States is attempting to impose conditions on the ‘new Syria’ in terms of sanctions relief, and that means repressing Palestinians in Syria. This is reflected in what happened with the arrest of the leaders of Islamic Jihad, and then today, the security forces arresting and detaining for several hours Dr. Talal Naji, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command,” Bishtawi said.
He noted that this action raises particular concerns, as Naji is a historic figure from the first generation of the contemporary Palestinian revolution that began in 1965, and has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization since 1974. Bishtawi said that the arrest comes hand in hand with the “barbaric Israeli aggression against Syria,” adding that “across different Syrian governments, there has always been a strong sense of solidarity and community between the Palestinian and Syrian people. The Palestinian refugees in the camps have great solidarity with the Syrian people confronting this aggression.”
“Palestinian refugees are in a state of limbo, waiting for a new vision of the relationship with the current Syrian government, and to see how they will deal with the Palestinian presence in Syria in a way that is fitting for the Palestinian cause as a liberation issue and a just, rightful struggle,” Bishtawi said.
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He added, “Unfortunately, so far there is no clear definition of what this relationship is; we are facing a new regime with no clarity about the relationship.” He noted that the summons and arrests of Palestinian faction members and leaders began the day after the fall of the former government, but emphasized that the Palestinian factions “want to continue the historical relationship with Syria and its people in a way that befits the joint sacrifices of the Palestinian and Syrian people.”
Bishtawi noted that the visit of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas did not accomplish anything in terms of the Palestinian–Syrian relationship, because that relationship is much deeper than the existence of an embassy or a PLO office in Syria.
“There are many Palestinian refugees and camps in different Syrian governorates, with a very deep, interconnected relationship. This should grow even more profound given the presence of the common enemy.”
“We hope this does not happen again and that they do not obey the new American conditions and dictates, but instead adopt a policy of extending a hand toward all Palestinians—because all Palestinians were and still are with the unity and stability of Syria, and with Syria’s historical position toward justice for the Palestinian cause,” Bishtawi said.
He added that what is urgently needed now is the release of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad movement and the establishment of a common vision for the Palestinian–Syrian relationship.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joins all the voices demanding the freedom of the two Islamic Jihad leaders and all political prisoners who have been fighting the Israeli occupation in Syrian jails—as well as all political prisoners in Arab and international prisons who have been incarcerated for their support for the Palestinian people, the Palestinian cause, and the Palestinian resistance.
(Samidoun)
