The Syrian regime arrested two terrorist leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

In an unexpected event, the security forces of the Syrian regime arrested two terrorists from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), according to several media outlets in the country.

Until April 22, the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa had not issued an official statement confirming the news. However, an Interior Ministry official, under the condition of anonymity, confirmed the capture of the group's leaders, although he avoided providing details about the reasons for their arrest. A Palestinian source in Damascus also confirmed the information, reported France24 on April 22.

Reuters, in its coverage of that same day, quoted a statement from the Al Quds Brigades stating that Khaled Khaled, responsible for the Islamic Jihad operations in Syria, and Yasser al-Zafari, leader of its organizing committee, had been under arrest in Syria for five days.

Meanwhile, the London-based newspaper Asharq al Awsat indicated that "Palestinian sources in Damascus informed the German News Agency (DPA) that Syrian security forces arrested the Palestinian leader Khaled Khaled, head of Islamic Jihad in Syria, and Abu Ali Yasser, who leads the organization's organizing committee in the capital, Damascus, between Sunday night and early Monday morning."

According to this report, the arrests took place just two days after the visit to Syria by the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who met on April 18 with the interim Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Saraya al Quds, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, issued a statement that was replicated by various Arabic media outlets, including Asharq al Awsat. Part of the content was also disseminated by other media, such as Russia's RT Arabic.

In the message, it is confirmed that the two Palestinian terrorist leaders had been detained for five days and that the Syrian authorities had not yet explained the reasons for their arrest, thus placing the date of detention on April 18.

The statement from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad expressed its surprise at the action, stating that "we did not expect to see this from brothers whose land has always been a refuge for loyal and free people.[…]We trust that our brothers in the Syrian government will soon release our detained comrades."

The reference to "brothers" alluded to the prolonged settlement of the group's leaders and terrorists in Damascus, including its top leader, Ziad Nakhaleh.

According to Sky News Arabia, this is the first detention of Palestinian figures carried out by the new Syrian regime. The network recalled that, at one time, up to 13 Palestinian factions operated from Damascus, although it is currently unknown how many remain after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Assad's government, overthrown on December 8, was a strategic ally of Iran, a country that supports the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian armed organizations. It is worth remembering that Islamic Jihad fighters actively participated in the October 7 attack against Israel and have frequently clashed with the Israel Defense Forces in the northern West Bank.

This news caused speculations about the reasons behind the detention of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad members. According to Middle East Eye, the action "appears to be an attempt to respond to the demands of the United States in search of sanctions relief."

In the same vein, the Iranian state channel Press TV argued that the Syrian government might have taken the measure to "please the United States."