Hamas and PFLP offices in Syria will not close

Politburo member of the popular front for the liberation of Palestine Maher Al-Taher says the faction has no plans to shutter its offices in Damascus, despite unrest in Syria.

Maher Al-Taher said Saturday the leftist faction's offices in the Syrian capital are operating as usual and that he will return to Damascus after Gaza, where he arrived last week marking his first visit to Gaza for preparations for PFLP seventh general congress .

Al-Taher says he wishes Syria and its people will soon enjoy stability and security.

PFLP has kept silent with no reaction on the crisis in Syria so far, in the sense that it respects the fact of not interfering in Syria’s internal affairs

Meanwhile, in Cairo, Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, Hamas' deputy politburo chief denied, in an email sent by his press office to journalists, that Hamas officials left Damascus because of security issues.

He said the absence of some Hamas leaders in Damascus is ordinary and due to the movement’s work outside Syria. In fact, he affirmed that Hamas offices in Damascus are not closed.

Hamas insists its official position has not changed, but in an interview with Arabic satellite channel Al-Arabiya, Abu Marzook said Hamas operations had left Damascus because of the regime's brutal crackdown on opponents. .

However, Abu Marzook and his family moved to the Egyptian capital several months ago, and a week ago the Gaza-based Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh publicly applauded the revolutionaries in Syria in a speech in Cairo.

HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement) is a liberation movement, the party deputy stressed, in an apparent move to separate the move out of Damascus from international policy towards Syria.

He accused US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton of standing for her interests only, and failing to care about the victims of the conflict.

Clinton falsely accuses Hamas of having links to al-Qaida, Abu Marzook said, adding that the party is entirely opposed to bloodshed.

On his part, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP that Hamas will not close its offices in Damascus and will not leave the country."Although for reasons of security some leaders may feel obliged at times to leave the country," he said.