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.
