DAMASCUS, Oct 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Syria denied on Saturday it was sheltering the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group (Holy War) and claimed the close of its offices in Syria for a long time.

    The Jihad offices in Syria were shut down about two years ago like those of other Palestinian groups, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, quoted by the official SANA news agency.

    The statement came a day after the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations, the so-called Middle East Quartet, urged Damascus to shut down the offices of the Jihad movement which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing attack in Israel's Hadera that killed five Israelis on Wednesday.

    "The military and semi-military activities are launched from the Palestinian territories, not from Syria," the statement added.

    "Syria is not involved in this latest operation or any other and we are surprised by this rushed statement that does not have any evidence to back it," clarified the statement.

    It said that "the measures the quartet had asked Syria to take have in fact already been undertaken ... They are not at all in conflict with their freedom of political expression and their aspirations as Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland."

    Meanwhile, Well-informed Palestinian sources said on Saturday that Ramadan Shallah, secretary general of the Jihad movement who was based in Syria, left the country several months ago in a bid to defuse the West pressure on Damascus to expel Palestinian militant groups.

    Labelling Syria a sponsor of terror, Washington has long demanded Damascus to expel Palestinian militant groups based in the country.

    Syria, which houses more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees, has supported the refugees there to engage in political activities to promote their right to return. Enditem