Fatah builds bridges with Syria after rupture with Hamas

A senior Fatah delegation visited Syria, carrying a message from President Mahmoud Abbas to his Syrian counterpart about the need to bring the Palestinian cause back on the table in the run-up to the Arab summit scheduled to take place in Algeria in March.
Samir al-Rifai, the Palestinian ambassador to Syria, speaks during a ceremony marking the 57th anniversary of the Fatah movement's foundation at the ravaged Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, Syria, Jan. 7, 2022.
Samir al-Rifai, the Palestinian ambassador to Syria, speaks during a ceremony marking the 57th anniversary of the Fatah movement's foundation at Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, Syria, Jan. 7, 2022. - Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images
Mai Abu Hasaneen
Mai Abu Hasaneen
@HasaneenMai

The Syrian government headed by President Bashar al-Assad continues to adopt a policy of estrangement vis-a-vis Hamas, which has been in place since 2012 when the Islamist movement decided to support the Syrian revolution against Assad’s regime.

Meanwhile, political detente between the Syrian government and Fatah, which was set in motion when the Syrian government reopened the movement’s offices in Damascus back in 2015, is still ongoing.

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