Palestinian refugees return to Yarmouk amid uncertainty in post-Assad Syria

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - DAMASCUS — The Yarmouk refugee camp, once a bustling hub for Palestinians in Syria, is seeing a slow return of its former residents following the December 8 fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

However, the camp’s future, and the place of Syria’s Palestinian refugees in the new political order, remains uncertain.

Yarmouk, located outside Damascus, was a thriving community before Syria's civil war reduced it to rubble.

Taken over by militant groups and bombarded by government forces, the camp was largely abandoned after 2018.

The buildings that survived bombing were often looted or demolished, and returning residents faced significant bureaucratic and security hurdles under Assad’s rule.

With Assad’s fall and the rise of a new leadership led by the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), many displaced Palestinians are cautiously hopeful that they may finally rebuild their lives in Yarmouk.

In the days following Assad’s ouster, families returned to Yarmouk to assess the damage to their homes.

Streets once filled with shops, mosques, and homes now lie in ruins, but a small vegetable market has reopened, hinting at a revival of daily life.

Ahmad al-Hussein, who left Yarmouk in 2011, recently returned to live with relatives in a relatively undamaged section of the camp.

“Under Assad, getting permission to return was nearly impossible,” he said, describing a grueling vetting process by security agencies.

Now, with Assad gone, al-Hussein hopes to rebuild his own home, which remains a hollow shell.

For many, Yarmouk holds deep sentimental value. “Even with all this destruction, I feel like it’s like heaven,” said Taghrid Halawi, who visited her former home with friends.

“You really feel that your Palestine is here, even though you are far from Palestine.”

Syria is home to an estimated 450,000 Palestinian refugees, who are not granted citizenship but have historically enjoyed rights similar to Syrian nationals, excluding voting and running for office.

In contrast to Lebanon, where Palestinians face significant legal restrictions, those in Syria had relatively better opportunities — though their relationship with Syrian authorities has often been fraught.

Under the Assad regime, Palestinian factions had a complicated role. While the government proclaimed solidarity with the Palestinian cause, it often suppressed groups aligned with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

In recent years, the Syrian government began rolling back property rights for Palestinians, raising concerns about their long-term security.

The new Syrian government, led by HTS, has yet to clarify its position on Palestinian refugees or its stance toward Israel, which Assad’s regime never recognized.

HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has indicated that the new administration seeks stability and is not interested in escalating conflict with Israel.

Palestinian ambassador to Syria, Samir al-Rifai, said the relationship between Palestinians and the new government remains undefined.

“The new Syrian leadership, how will it deal with the Palestinian issue? We have no information because we have had no contact with each other so far,” he said.

Al-Rifai noted that security forces recently entered the offices of three Palestinian factions and confiscated weapons, but it is unclear whether this signals a broader policy of disarming Palestinian groups.

“We are fully aware that the new leadership has issues that are more important,” he said, emphasizing the priority of stability.

Before the war, Yarmouk housed over 1.2 million people, including 160,000 Palestinians.

Today, fewer than 10,000 Palestinian refugees remain or have returned to the camp.

Despite its devastation, Yarmouk continues to symbolize the resilience of Palestinian identity and the hope for eventual return to their ancestral homeland.

Palestinians in Syria now face a critical juncture, as the new government’s policies will shape their rights and future in a country still reeling from years of conflict. For now, those returning to Yarmouk cling to the hope of rebuilding their lives amid the ruins.

“We expect the relationship between us to be a better relationship,” al-Rifai said. “For now, we are hoping for the best.” — Agencies