Syria and the Palestinian organizations offices

The Lebanese weekly al-Osbo's al-Arabi said in its recent issue quoting American diplomatic sources as saying that Syria had informed the US through direct diplomatic channels a new stand saying that Damascus is ready to study the closure of the opposition Palestinian organizations offices which take Damascus as a headquarters and to suspend its activities in the Syrian and Lebanese territories.

These sources said that Washington had told Israel about this very Syrian position as Israel had suggested to the US administration to concentrate its pressures on Syria and Lebanon in the coming phase of the current war against terrorism.

These sources indicated that Damascus has actually addressed a strong warning to the official spokesman of the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine Maher al-Taher who is in Damascus after he had welcomed from the offices of the front in al-Yarmouk camp over the assassination of the Israeli minister Rahba'am Zeifi and voiced threats against the Americans following the assassination of the front's leader Abu Ali Mustafa.

The sources added that Damascus had immediately imposed a media and political embargo on the activities of the opposition Palestinian organizations officials in order to impede Sharon's plan to strike these organizations in Syria and Lebanon.