The transitional Syrian government’s security forces detained two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), according to numerous media reports. As of April 22, the Syrian government has not released a statement confirming the reports. However, an unnamed “Syrian Interior Ministry official confirmed the arrest of the movement’s leaders but did not answer subsequent questions about the reason for their detention. A Palestinian source in Damascus also confirmed the news,” France24 reported on April 22.
“In a statement, the Al Quds Brigades said Khaled Khaled, who heads Islamic Jihad’s operations in Syria, and Yasser al-Zafari, who heads its organizational committee, had been in Syrian custody for five days,” Reuters noted on April 22.
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.
Saraya al Quds, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, issued a statement circulated to Arabic-language media, including Asharq al Awsat. Elements of the statement were reported in other media outlets, such as Russia’s RT Arabic. The statement claims the men had been detained for five days and that the Syrian government had not “clarified the reasons for the arrest.” This timeline indicates the men were arrested on April 18.
The PIJ statement also said the group was surprised by the arrest, which “we did not hope to see from brothers whose land has always been a haven for loyalists and free people. […] 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.
It was the first arrest of Palestinian officials by the new government in Damascus, Sky News Arabia claims, noting that 13 Palestinian factions have been based in Damascus in the past. It is unclear how many remain now that the Bashar al Assad regime has fallen. The Assad regime, which fell on December 8, was a close ally of Iran, and Iran backs PIJ and other Palestinian terrorist groups. Palestinian Islamic Jihad forces in Gaza participated in the October 7 attack on Israel, and its members have frequently clashed with the Israel Defense Forces in the northern West Bank.
While Khaled did not appear to have a large public profile in Damascus, his colleague, Zafari, has been mentioned in several reports. In March 2022, Zafari attended a symposium organized by PIJ in a suburb of Damascus. “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.
In May 2023, the Office of Iran’s Supreme Leader sent a message via an emissary congratulating PIJ in Damascus. During a meeting with the Iranian emissary, Zafari, who was described by Palestine Today as “a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement’s Syrian leadership,” spoke about members of PIJ who had been killed in Gaza in recent clashes with the IDF.
The detention of the two PIJ members comes as Damascus seeks to crack down on illegal weapons trafficking in Syria and detain members of the former regime and other suspected opposition. For instance, the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) media said regime forces had confiscated weapons in the Damascus countryside and near Suwayda on April 22. The New Arab also reported that Syrian forces detained a former officer of the Assad regime the same day.
Speculation is swirling about the motive behind the detention of the PIJ members. Middle East Eye suggested that it “appears to be a move to meet US demands for sanctions relief.” Iran’s state-run Press TV also argued that the move was done by Damascus to please the US.
