Palestinian Islamic Jihad co-founder threatened with 'unlawful' deportation from Syria
More than 11 months after Syrian authorities detained Adel al-Natour, a 71-year-old co-founder and former member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), he remains held without trial or access to legal counsel, his family told Middle East Eye.
Natour was taken from his home outside Damascus on 18 September. His family said Natour left PIJ, an armed Palestinian faction, in 1995.
Since his detention, Natour’s family has only been allowed to visit him four times, his daughter Israa, a public servant, told MEE. When they were finally allowed to see him four months later, he had lost 20 kilos.
“He is cut off from the world and didn’t even know the war in Gaza had ended, where our family is internally displaced and living in tents,” she said.
His family did not speak to the press until this week after the security forces informed them on Saturday that Natour would be deported from Syria in 10 days time.
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Over the past year, they received repeated assurances from the security forces that he would be released. They told them he had been taken into custody because there was a danger to his life, without providing further details.
Last year, as US sanctions were being lifted on Damascus, the US government released a statement saying it would monitor the “banning of Palestinian terrorist groups” from Syria. Damascus is also in the midst of negotiating a security agreement with Israel, which is waging ongoing military operations in southern Syria.
Today, the family is seeking to appeal his deportation order. However, they say they have been turned away by lawyers and the courts themselves because Natour does not have any formal charges to contest.
Human rights organisations say his detention is unlawful and one of hundreds of cases of arbitrary detention since the interim authorities, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, seized power in December 2024.
Political life
Natour was born in 1955 in a refugee camp in Rafah in the Gaza Strip to a poor family. “He was politically active from a very young age,” Israa said.
In 1981, Natour co-founded Palestinian Islamic Jihad to resist the Israeli occupation.
'He is cut off from the world and didn’t even know the war in Gaza had ended'
- Israa, Adel al-Natour's daughter
However, shortly thereafter he was detained without trial by Israel. Then, he was forcibly deported from Gaza to Egypt, from where he was also subsequently deported, this time to Greece, before finally finding refuge in Algeria.
In 1986, he was allowed to return to Gaza only to be deported again prior to the First Intifada, when the group began carrying out military operations against Israel.
In 1990, after returning to the strip, Natour was deported once again and barred from ever returning to Gaza. He found exile in Libya, before making his way to Syria in 1992, where he and his family finally settled down
His family says he ceased all political and military activities in 1995 in protest against Iranian interference in the PIJ. He believed that Iran was only funding the group “as a tool to pressure Israel, not to support the Palestinian cause”, Israa explained.
“Moreover, he came to believe that armed resistance against Israel was only leading to the deaths of Palestinians, not contributing to ending the occupation of Palestine,” Israa added.
In 2008, Natour was arrested by the Assad government and detained in the notorious Palestine Branch for three months before finally being released.
When the Syrian revolution broke out in 2011, Natour began hiding opposition activists in his home in Damascus’ Yarmouk camp. He fled the camp in 2012 when security forces began laying siege to it.
“He did everything to convince the Palestinian factions to remain neutral in the conflict,” Israa said.
In 2012, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC) decided to wage war against Syrian rebel forces in the camp, while Hamas sought to fight the government.
“During the conflict, he was known as the Godfather of Yarmouk camp; he believed in peaceful resistance against the regime and would provide humanitarian aid to the displaced,” Israa said. “He has a strong faith in all people, sometimes to his detriment.”
Unlawful detention
As Palestinians living in Syria, Natour, his wife and five children possess Syrian residency papers, but not citizenship. As a result, his family says they have nowhere to go given most countries routinely deny Palestinians visas. Moreover, all of their travel documents were seized when the security forces searched their home.
'My father’s deportation would set a precedent for others to also be forced to leave the country'
- Muamen, Adel al-Natour's son
The family is considering seeking refuge in Malaysia, where Palestinians do not need tourist visas. However, they have no assurances that he would be granted residency there and be deported again.
“Given the choice, my father would rather stay in prison than face deportation,” said Israa. “Our work is here, our life is here – Syria is our second homeland.”
Human rights advocates say Natour's imprisonment is unlawful and one of hundreds of cases of arbitrary detention since the fall of the Assad government.
“Even if he had violated a Syrian law or committed a crime, he has a full right to a fair trial and appeal, like any human, even if he is not Syrian,” Bassam Alahmad, executive director of the rights organisation Syrians for Truth and Justice, told Middle East Eye.
“He has the right to know why he was arrested and be presented with the evidence against him, as well as to have a legal consultant or lawyer and not to be tortured or disappeared,” Bassam added.
The organisation has documented nearly two dozen cases of enforced disappearance by the security forces and over a dozen deaths under torture in detention since the new authorities took power in 2024.
Middle East Eye contacted the Syrian Ministry of Interior for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Natour's son Muamen, also a public servant, said: “Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees live in Syria; my father’s deportation would set a precedent for others to also be forced to leave the country.
“My father, like us, wanted to support building the new Syria after its liberation from Assad.
“However, we are against oppression and forced disappearance. Justice was one of the goals of the Syrian revolution.”
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