Palestinian Factions Declare ‘Popular Resistance’ in Rejection of Normalization

Palestinians take part in a protest against the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalize relations, in Nablus, West Bank, August 14, 2020. (Reuters)
Palestinians take part in a protest against the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalize relations, in Nablus, West Bank, August 14, 2020. (Reuters)
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Palestinian Factions Declare ‘Popular Resistance’ in Rejection of Normalization

Palestinians take part in a protest against the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalize relations, in Nablus, West Bank, August 14, 2020. (Reuters)
Palestinians take part in a protest against the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalize relations, in Nablus, West Bank, August 14, 2020. (Reuters)

Fatah deputy chief Mahmoud al-Aloul revealed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was under great pressure to change his stance on regional developments.

This pressure will not change the current Palestinian rejection of agreements between Arab countries and Israel to normalize relations, he added.

“We derive our position from the people and their ability to persevere,” he stressed.

The Palestinians have vehemently rejected agreements reached between Arab countries to normalize ties with Israel and have decided to counter such moves by uniting their ranks after years of divisions and disputes.

These efforts led to the establishment on Saturday of the Unified National Command of the Popular Resistance.

In a founding statement, it called for activating popular resistance, under the Palestinian flag. It said Tuesday will be a day of “a popular uprising that rejects” the normalization.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel are expected on Tuesday to sign an agreement that normalizes their relations.

“The popular struggle will only end with the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” continued the statement.

It also called on Palestinians in the diaspora, as well as people in Arab and Islamic countries, to stage rallies in front of American, Israeli and Arab embassies to reject the normalization.

The general secretaries of various Palestinian factions had reached an agreement on September 4 to activate “comprehensive popular resistance” against Israel in wake of the agreements with Arab countries.

The Unified National Command of the Popular Resistance is formed of factions from the West Bank and Gaza, as well as from abroad.

Factions that reject the Oslo Accords have taken advantage of the escalation, with the Hamas movement saying that “comprehensive resistance was the only way to defeat Israel, thwart its plans and liberate the occupied territories.”



Syria Kurd Force Denies Links to Ankara Attack as Türkiye Strikes

Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi speaks during an interview with AFP in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi speaks during an interview with AFP in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria Kurd Force Denies Links to Ankara Attack as Türkiye Strikes

Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi speaks during an interview with AFP in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi speaks during an interview with AFP in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2024. (AFP)

The commander of a Kurdish-led force in Syria denied links to a deadly attack near Ankara claimed by Kurdish PKK militants, after Turkish strikes on Kurd-held Syria killed more than a dozen people in retaliation.

Türkiye carried out air strikes against targets linked to Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria after Wednesday's shooting and suicide attack that killed five people at a defense firm near the Turkish capital.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attackers infiltrated from neighboring Syria, vowing there would be no let-up in the fight against Kurdish fighters.

"We opened an internal investigation and I can confirm that none of the attackers entered Türkiye from Syrian territory," Mazloum Abdi, the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told AFP.

The SDF is a US-backed force that spearheaded fighting against the ISIS group in its last Syria strongholds before its territorial defeat in 2019.

It is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), viewed by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which claimed the attack on Ankara.

"We have no connection to this attack that took place in Ankara," Abdi said late Saturday from Hasakeh, a major city run by the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in northeast Syria.

"Our battlefields are inside Syrian territory," he added.

Turkish strikes on Kurd-held Syria since Wednesday have killed 15 civilians and two fighters, according to Abdi.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said Türkiye has launched more than 100 strikes, most of them using drones, since Wednesday.

It said civilian infrastructure including bakeries, grain silos and power stations were hit alongside military facilities and checkpoints used by Kurdish forces.

"It seems that (Türkiye’s) goal is not just to respond to the events that took place in Ankara, but also to target institutions and sources of livelihood for the population," said Abdi.

"The main goal is to weaken and eliminate the (semi) autonomous administration, forcing the population to migrate," he said.

- 'Weak' US response -

Abdi said he was open to dialogue to de-escalate tensions but demanded an end to Türkiye’s attacks which he said are "ongoing" and suggest a potentially wider operation.

"We are ready to resolve issues with Türkiye through dialogue, but not under the pressure of attacks, so these operations must be stopped for dialogue efforts to continue," Abdi said.

Turkish troops and allied opposition factions control swaths of northern Syria following successive cross-border offensives since 2016, most of them targeting the SDF.

"The Turkish state is taking advantage of the current events in the Middle East, as attention is directed towards Gaza, Lebanon and the Israeli attack on Iran" to launch new attacks on Syria, Abdi said.

Abdi criticized his US allies for not protecting Kurdish forces, saying the position of the US-led coalition "seems weak".

The United States has about 900 troops in Syria as part of an anti-ISIS coalition.

"Their response is not at the level required to stop the attacks, and pressure must be put on Türkiye," he added, saying the strikes on Syria "not only concern us but also affect their forces."

The US presidential election on November 5 could also weaken support for the SDF if Donald Trump is elected, according to Abdi.

In 2019, Trump announced a decision to withdraw thousands of US troops from Kurdish-held Syria, paving the way for Türkiye to launch an invasion there that same year.

"In 2019, we had an unsuccessful experience with the administration of US President Trump," said the SDF commander.

"But we are confident that the United States... makes its decisions based on" strategic interests in the region.