Sources: Egypt grants residency permits to key Islamic Jihad and PFLP leaders

Egyptian authorities have recently granted permission for two prominent Palestinian leaders to move from Syria to Egypt, according to Quds Press, which cited Palestinian sources.

The figures in question are Ziad Nakhaleh, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, and Jamil Mazhar, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Both have been residing in Syria and have expressed their desire to relocate to Egypt. 

Additionally, the Egyptian authorities are reviewing a request from Dr. Talal Naji, the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, who also seeks to take up residence in Cairo. 

This request follows an incident in May when Syrian authorities asked Naji to leave the country after detaining him for several hours. His release was facilitated through the intervention of Khaled Meshaal, the head of the Hamas movement abroad.

Following his release, Syrian authorities reportedly informed Naji that “the political and security conditions do not permit him to remain in the country.”

Naji, now 79 years old, immigrated with his family from Nazareth in northern occupied Palestine to Damascus in 1948, when he was just two years old. Consequently, he has spent approximately 77 years in Syria.

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