Den syrisk-støttede terrororganisasjonen Folkefronten for Palestinas frigjøring, Generalkommandoen, sto bak grensekrenkelsen på Golan-høyden søndag. Mandag var det begravelser i flyktningleiren Yarmouk.

Folk var rasende og følte seg manipulert og misbruk. Det kom til oppløp, og PFLP (GC)-militsen svarte med å åpne ild. 20 palestinske flyktninger ble drept. Det er en sterk historie som sier mye om forholdene internt blant palestinerne, men mest om forholdene i Syria. PFLP (GC) hadde aldri kunnet oppføre seg slik uten syrisk backing.

Når man hører noe slikt kan man lure på hva det folkelige opprøret i Syria vil få å si for palestinernes politiske prosess. Det kan være voldelige grupper som Hamas og PFLP (GC) får problemer. Begge støttes av Assad-regimet.

Funerals in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near the Syrian capital of Damascus turned violent late Monday as clashes erupted between camp residents and a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction, leading to the deaths of as many as 20 people, according to Palestinian sources and amateur video posted to the Internet.

Tensions rose during a funeral procession when mourners in the camp denounced the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, General Command, alleging that the faction had persuaded the mourners’ relatives to participate in Sunday’s deadly demonstrations near the Syrian-Israeli border, said an official of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian news outlets.

Det sier noe om PFLP (GC)s politiske kultur at de svarer på uro med å drepe 20 palestinere, i en begravelse. Det er samme oppførsel og metoder som Assad bruker. Skyter sørgende.

PLO fordømmer manipuleringen med palestinernes sak. Denne historien vil bli kjent i alle palestinske miljøer og må sette hendelsen ved grensen søndag i et nytt lys. Men ikke for norske medier?

Holding the faction responsible for Sunday’s deaths, angry demonstrators attacked the group’s headquarters and burned two cars, the reports said. In retaliation, the faction’s gunmen opened fire on the mourners, killing between 14 and 20 people, the Palestinian sources said. Video footage showed terrified young men scurrying for shelter amid a hail of gunfire.

A faction official in Beirut who was reached by telephone refused to comment. But other Palestinians said Monday’s events, details of which emerged Tuesday, raised questions about Syria’s long-stated support for the Palestinian cause.

The repeated mobilization of Palestinian protesters, who were given unprecedented freedom to approach the Syrian border with the Israeli-occupied Golan, has fueled speculation that the regime in Damascus is fomenting chaos in order to take international focus off the ongoing crackdowns against protests across Syria. Some Palestinian refugees share that view.

«They are bargaining with the blood of Palestinians to suit the Syrian regime,» said the PLO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. «Once again, the Palestinian struggle has fallen victim to the agenda of an Arab regime.»

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority «condemned the work of armed groups belonging to the PFLP-GC, who used live ammunition to shoot at young protesters in Yarmouk camp as they were participating in a funeral procession for Palestinians who had fallen during protests in the Golan Heights on Sunday.»

Violence at Palestinian camp funerals in Syria leaves 20 dead
Mourners clash with members of a Syrian-backed militant faction at the Yarmouk refugee camp. The faction is accused of having persuaded the Palestinians’ relatives to join protests at the Golan Heights border that turned deadly.