Morocco, Spain Resume Cooperation on Migration after Normalizing Relations

Spanish troops at El-Tarajal beach, near the Spanish-Moroccan (Reuters)
Spanish troops at El-Tarajal beach, near the Spanish-Moroccan (Reuters)
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Morocco, Spain Resume Cooperation on Migration after Normalizing Relations

Spanish troops at El-Tarajal beach, near the Spanish-Moroccan (Reuters)
Spanish troops at El-Tarajal beach, near the Spanish-Moroccan (Reuters)

The Moroccan-Spanish Joint Committee held its meeting to prepare Operation Crossing the Strait (OPE) 2022 this Thursday in Rabat.

The Committee facilitates the transit of Moroccan citizens living abroad during the summer.

The meeting was co-chaired by Moroccan Director of Migration and Border Surveillance Khalid Zerouali and Spain’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Isabel Goicoechea.

A joint statement issued after the meeting announced that it comes within the framework of implementing the roadmap established during the meeting last April between Spanish President Pedro Sanchez and the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI.

The discussions focused on the operational arrangements put in place by the two parties, similar to those adopted in 2019, to ensure that the 2022 transit process is conducted in the best conditions.

The measures are based on several factors, including the fluidity and security of transit, assistance to travelers, and the prevention and protection of public health.

The parties also agreed on an essential plan for sailing, which provides offers regarding the daily capacity of passenger transport, vehicles, rotation, and sea connection.

They also issued directives to mobilize necessary logistics and human resources at ports and airports through measures of social assistance monitored by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity in Morocco and abroad.

The two sides discussed plans to guarantee an adequate supply for the daily traffic of passengers and vehicles. The reinforcements of troops will be mobilized in the ports to ensure transit, both from Europe to Africa and vice versa.

They agreed to reinforce and coordinate information exchange channels to continue working on aspects such as the management of peak travel days, the possibility of exchanging tickets, and other conditions for maritime crossings.



Syria Detains Damascus-Based Leader of Prominent Palestinian Faction

Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)
Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)
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Syria Detains Damascus-Based Leader of Prominent Palestinian Faction

Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)
Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)

Syria on Saturday detained a prominent Damascus-based Palestinian official whose group was close to the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

Talal Naji, 79, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, or PFLP-GC, was detained Saturday morning shortly after he left his house with a driver and two guards, a Palestinian official told The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that shortly after Naji was detained near his home in the Mazze neighborhood, security officials came to his home and questioned two unarmed guards for about an hour.

A Syrian government official told the AP that Naji was taken for questioning and should be released later. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The PFLP-GC became known for dramatic attacks against Israel, including the hijacking an El Al jetliner in 1968 and the machine gunning of another airliner at Zurich airport in 1969. In 1970, it planted a bomb on a Swissair jet that blew up on a flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv, killing all 47 on aboard.

Naji’s arrest comes nearly two weeks after Syrian authorities detained two members of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. The group identified the two officials arrested at the time as its leader in Syria Khaled Khaled and another senior official Yasser Zafari. The Islamic Jihad took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Under Assad, several Palestinians factions were based in Syria and some of them remained after the fall of his 54-year Assad family in December.