Middle East News
Palestinian militant group, Iranian officials meet in Syria
Sep 22, 2010, 16:36 GMT
Damascus - A delegation from the militant Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) met Wednesday with Iranian officials in Syria, shortly after the restart of direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel.
PPSF leader Khalid Abd al-Majid, whose front wields nominal political weight within Palestinian circles, told the German Press Agency dpa that his faction stood in solidarity with Tehran 'in the face of a campaign against Iran from all directions, including from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.'
Al-Majid made his remarks following a meeting with Iranian Ambassador Sayyed Ahmed Mousavi.
The PPSF secretary general was referring to statements made by Abbas, in which the Fatah Party leader accused Iran of meddling in Palestinian affairs and hampering the ability of Palestinian factions to reach a unity agreement.
Abbas had blamed the Iranian government for encouraging his political rival Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, to reject an Egyptian-brokered deal with his party earlier this year.
On the sidelines of the Damascus meeting, Palestinian sources in Syria, who wished to remain anonymous, vowed that militant operations would be carried out against Israel in the Occupied Territories, although no further details were given.
Al-Majid also warned that Israel should expect movements against the current Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
From his perch in Damascus, where he lives in exile, al-Majid said that the Palestinian people were not properly represented at the current peace talks.
The most recent round of peace talks, which took place in Egypt, Jerusalem and the West Bank last week, were mediated by the United States and attended by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Noticeably absent from the meetings was Hamas, which both rejected the talks and was not invited to take part in them.
The meeting in Damascus between al-Majid and Iranian officials comes the day before a number of Palestinian factions are set to meet in Beirut to discuss the Mideast peace talks.
