http://m.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-30/193220-syria-clashes-erupt-in-palestinian-refugee-camp.ashx
This story, from the Lebanon Daily Star, gives us much to think about. It is no secret that many Philistines living in Refugee camps in Syria after being driven from their home by the Israelis in 1967 and before. But this is the first we have heard of these Palestinians supporting the government of Syria against the “rebels.” Could it be we are deceived, and that the Assad government deserves support rather than condemnation? Would not the refugees from Philistine know?
Star writes:
Tuesday’s clashes near Damascus spread into the Yarmuk Palestinian camp, home to 148,500 people, after breaking out in a neighbouring district, activists said.
Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the pro-regime Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command had joined forces with the army after fighting spread into the camp.
On the first day after the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday, which saw a bid for a ceasefire collapse amid renewed clashes, car bombings and air strikes, activists said more than 500 people had died in fighting over its four days.
The failure of peace efforts prompted fierce condemnation from Qatar, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani saying the international community was becoming complicit in a “war of extermination”.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the Syrian Revolution General Council, a network of activists on the ground, said fighting was heavy between the rebel Free Syrian Army and Palestinian forces.
There are more than 510,000 Palestinian refugees living in Syria and their leadership is largely supportive of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
