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PLO Member Says 8 European Countries Ready to Recognize Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh holds talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi via videoconference. WAFA news agency
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh holds talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi via videoconference. WAFA news agency
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PLO Member Says 8 European Countries Ready to Recognize Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh holds talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi via videoconference. WAFA news agency
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh holds talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi via videoconference. WAFA news agency

Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Azzam al-Ahmad said that eight European states have expressed willingness to recognize a Palestinian state on the lines prevailing before the 1967 war in response to Israel's annexation plan.

The European Union rejects Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley and has threatened to impose sanctions on Israel in case it goes ahead with the annexation, Ahmad added.

Palestinian officials told the Israeli Kan public broadcaster that several European countries, including Ireland, intend to recognize the Palestinian state if Israel goes ahead with its plan.

The officials say France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal have yet to respond.

A committee in the House of Representatives of the Belgian Parliament passed a draft-law calling on the government to recognize a Palestinian state. It will be debated by the parliament in the coming 15 days.

Ahmad also said that Palestine "plans to hold a series of meetings in the United Nations to exert pressure on Israel to withdraw its annexation" plan.

He stressed that Riyadh remains a backer of the Palestinian people and leaders, lauding the Saudi government for its constant stance from the Palestinian cause as well as the meeting outcomes of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Following a meeting, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has urged German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to increase pressure on Israel to stop its destructive plan.

The talks, via videoconference, were attended by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

Shtayyeh said: “We have affirmed our position of categorically rejecting annexation as an existential threat to the Palestinian entity and the Palestinian state, a violation of international law and agreements and a threat to regional security."

He added: "We have asked Germany, which will chair the Security Council and the European Union, to convey this message to the world and increase its pressure on Israel on behalf of the European Union to back down from the annexation plan. It is very clear that if there is no serious cost for the annexation to Israel, it will not back down from its plan."

Maas restated his country’s opposition to unilateral Israeli annexation. Safadi warned it was “imperative to stop annexation because ultimately it is a path to institutionalize apartheid of Palestine and that is not a recipe for peace.”

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Arab World

Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
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Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 

The brief detention of Talal Naji, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), by Syrian authorities has renewed scrutiny over the status of Palestinian factions still operating in Syria, particularly those that aligned with the former Assad regime.

Naji’s arrest and swift release come amid a major political realignment following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Once one of the most active and heavily armed Palestinian groups in Syria, the PFLP-GC now faces an uncertain future, along with other factions that were long tolerated—or even supported—under Assad’s rule.

A well-informed Palestinian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new Syrian administration has appointed a figure known as Abu Abdul Rahman al-Shami to oversee the file of Palestinian factions. Since assuming the role, al-Shami has convened multiple meetings with faction representatives, including regular attendees from the PFLP-GC, to discuss the fate of their fighters, weapons, property, and military infrastructure.

According to the source, al-Shami has made it clear that the new government intends to hold accountable any individuals or groups implicated in crimes against Syrian civilians during the civil war. Palestinian factions have been instructed to surrender all weapons and military equipment, and to limit their activities to humanitarian and relief work. The PFLP-GC, the source said, has largely complied.

Despite the fall of the Assad regime, Naji and much of the PFLP-GC’s second- and third-tier leadership have remained in Syria. Its offices in Damascus reportedly continue to operate, though under heightened scrutiny. Other faction leaders, however, have fled. Among them are Khaled Abdul Majid (Popular Struggle Front), Ziyad al-Saghir (Fatah–Intifada), Mohammad al-Saeed (Liwa al-Quds), and Saed Abdel Al (Free Palestine Movement). Most are believed to have sought refuge in Lebanon.

Sources confirmed that several PFLP-GC fighters have been detained in recent weeks in connection with alleged war crimes committed during their cooperation with Assad’s forces. The Syrian government has also moved to seize faction offices and military installations across the country, including properties belonging to Fatah–Intifada, the Free Palestine Movement, and the Sa’iqa Forces. Sa’iqa’s leader, Mohammad Qais, remains in Syria.

In a further blow, authorities have reportedly frozen bank accounts belonging to some Palestinian factions, both in state and private banks, although it remains unclear whether the PFLP-GC is among them.

Additionally, it is widely believed that the PFLP-GC has handed over its military training camps, which were previously spread across Damascus countryside, Daraa, Aleppo, and Suwayda. “The situation is extremely sensitive, and everyone is anxious,” one Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s likely they’ve surrendered those sites.”

The sense of unease deepened last month when Syrian authorities detained two senior Islamic Jihad officials in Damascus: Khaled Khaled, head of the group’s Syria bureau, and Abu Ali Yasser, its chief organizational officer. Both remain in custody, and no official charges have been announced.

The current atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has driven faction leaders to avoid public comment. Most now insist on anonymity when speaking to local or international media.

Before the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, Syria hosted more than a dozen Palestinian factions. As the conflict escalated, the Assad regime encouraged the formation of new pro-regime groups, composed largely of Palestinian refugees, to fight alongside its forces.