Syrian Rebels Seize Palestinian Camp in Damascus

PFLP Slams Attack on Facility as Rebels Claim Gains

Syrian rebel fighters attacked and seized a camp belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) General Command today, following battles in the area around the camp over the weekend.

The camp, in the Rihan area of Damascus Province, was said to be a training camp for security forces of the PFLP, which is broadly seen as pro-Assad and is in control of the largest refugee camp in the nation.

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been arming various Palestinian factions in recent weeks in the hopes that one of them might eventually supplant the PFLP and leave the refugee camp in pro-rebel hands. Today’s attack is a step in that direction, but could prompt more serious retaliation from the group.

PFLP leaders issued a statement condemning the attack, and claiming that the rebels did it because they are in league with Israel, while claiming credit for last week’s Tel Aviv bombing. Israeli officials have blamed the Tel Aviv bombing on a man affiliated with a different faction, however, and the PFLP’s claim seems to be coming out of left field.

Trying to make the Syrian Civil War all about Israel is nothing new, and both rebels and regime have repeatedly accused the other of being secretly in league with the Netanyahu government, a presumably damning attack but one which doesn’t seem to be based on anything.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.