The position was made clear in a statement released late Thursday by the Palestine Liberation Organisation from its headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
It came just hours after Ahmed Majdalani, a senior PLO official who is currently in Damascus for talks, said 14 Palestinian factions backed the idea of a joint military operation with the Syrian army to expel the ISIL jihadists from the camp where more than 15,000 people, mostly Palestinian refugees, are trapped.
But the PLO said its traditional position of non-involvement had not changed.
"We refused to drag our people and their camps into the hellish conflict which is happening in Syria and we categorically refuse to become one of the parties involved in the armed conflict that is taking place in Yarmuk," it said.
"We refuse to be drawn into military actions, whatever or wherever they are, and we call for other means to ensure the safety of lives in Yarmuk and to prevent more destruction and forced displacement."
Majdalani had said the Palestinian forces would work in an "integrated" fashion "with the Syrian state to clear the camp of terrorists"....
AFP
hurriyetdailynews.com
10/4/15
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Divided PLO unable to manage Yarmouk crisis...
ReplyDeleteThe invasion by ISIS of the Palestinian settlement of Yarmouk, in the southern suburbs of Damascus, has exposed serious divisions within the Palestinian leadership. An apparent agreement to confront the new crisis, with the Syrian Government, was rapidly disowned by the PLO leadership in Ramallah.
In the absence of a united Palestinian response it is highly likely that the Syrian Army, with allied Palestinian factions, will impose a 'security solution' to the area. This may mean near complete evacuation of the area and heavy bombardment. Only about 18,000 of the pre-crisis population of 160,000 actually remain inside Yarmouk....pravda.ru
14/4/15
Islamic State fighters have withdrawn most of their fighters from a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus after expelling its main rival from it, several residents and a Palestinian official said on Wednesday...
ReplyDeleteThe pull-out from Yarmouk leaves al Qaeda-linked Nusra as the main insurgent group inside the camp.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
- Reuters