The PLO and Fatah sent top representatives to Syria recently in what some observers say was a move to repair their ties with Damascus at the expense of Fatah's rival, Hamas. The high-level delegation arrived in Syria on Jan. 15 and participated in a Jan. 17 ceremony Fatah organized in Damascus to commemorate the party's 55th anniversary.
The delegation was headed by Azzam Al-Ahmad, a member of both the PLO Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee. He was accompanied by a number of senior Palestinian officials including fellow Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Youssef, Fatah Central Committee member Samir al-Rifai, head of the PLO’s political department in Syria Anwar Abdul Hadi and Palestine’s ambassador to Syria, Mahmoud al-Khalidi.
