RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Fatah movement and Syria have opened a new chapter of bilateral relations and have agreed upon the reopening of the Fatah movement's offices in Damascus, although particulars have yet to be worked out. In 1983, several Fatah members, led by secretary-general of the central committee of Fatah al-Intifada, Said Musa Maragha (mostly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Musa), defected from the movement, took control of Fatah offices in Syria and founded Fatah al-Intifada in Damascus.

Noteworthy is that relations between the movement and Syria before the 1983 dissension had witnessed a long period of tug of war — rapprochement at times and estrangement at others.

A 32-year breakup between Fatah and Syria began in 1983 when members of the Fatah movement defected and took control of the movement’s offices with the help of the Syrian regime. The breakup continued with the signing by the PLO of the 1993 Oslo Accord with Israel on Sept. 13, which Syria rejected and condemned back then.

The Fatah-Syria relationship is now witnessing a detente against the backdrop of the intensification of the fighting in Syrian cities — which has reached the Palestinian refugee camps, host to an estimated 650,000 refugees — in an attempt by Fatah to spare the refugees the scourge of the fighting and to help them return home after their displacement. This is happening through coordination with the regime and the Syrian army.