Palestinian consul condemns projects in Syria’s Afrin bearing his country’s name
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – The Palestinian consul in Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Nazmi Hazouri, rejected any settlement project bearing the name of Palestine in Afrin region, northwestern Syria.
In an interview with Rudaw channel, Hazouri said that his country rejects any project implemented under the name of Palestine in Syria, adding that the Palestinian National Authority rejects any practices aimed at stirring discord between the Palestinian people and the Kurds.
On Jan. 4, a housing settlement funded by Palestinian society was opened in the Jinderis district of Afrin in the northern countryside of Aleppo with the aim of housing IDPs of other Syrian regions.
Hazrouri talked about what is being circulated in media outlets regarding the inauguration of settlements bearing the name of Palestine in Afrin, and said that the names appear to belong to religious associations that bear the name of Palestine.
He stressed his rejection to any projects implemented under the name of Palestine, and said it does not represent the country’s official stance.
The counsel referred to the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki’s letter to Afrin Notables Committee, in which he stressed on the steady Palestinian position in “refusing any construction project claimed to be Palestinian.” Al-Maliki considered the settlements in Afrin to settle non-Kurds a singular act that does not represent his country.
The Palestinian consul said, “We, as Palestinians, are guests in Syria, and live in camps agreed upon with the Syrian government, and we are not in a state of permanent residence nor in a state of settlement.”
According to figures obtained by North Press, there are nearly 100 settlements built in areas held by Turkey in northern Syria, mostly built in 2022.
The projects aim at settling the Turkey-based Syrian refugees and the militants of the Turkish-backed opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), according to international reports.