ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A spokesperson for the Syrian presidential team tasked with overseeing the implementation of the January 29 agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Thursday that that authorities withdrew from the scene of Kurds destroying Arabic signage at Justice Palace in Hasaka "to avoid further escalation."

Footage emerged on Thursday showing Kurdish demonstrators removing a sign from the government building that had purportedly replaced the previous, Kurdish-language version in a manifestation of discontent regarding the integration of Rojava (northeast Syria) institutions within the Syrian state framework.

Locals in the city of Hasaka in Rojava (northeast Syria) protest and remove a sign on the Justice Palace in English and Arabic that replaced a previous sign that contained the Kurdish language, chanting “Kurdistan!” pic.twitter.com/Jobw4C0ApZ

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“We withdrew from the scene after the attack on the judicial palace out of concern for not escalating the situation,” spokesperson Ahmad al-Hilali told state media (Syria TV).

Hilali said the team had received promises that the judicial palace would be handed over to state authorities on Friday.

He added that members of the Kurdish-led internal security forces (Asayish) who had integrated into Syria’s security apparatus confronted those who attacked the judicial palace.

“We appreciate the efforts of the current that is pushing toward integration within the SDF,” Hilali said.

The spokesperson said the judicial palace in Hasaka had not been in use during the previous period and dismissed claims regarding older Kurdish signage at the site. 

Hilali described the judicial palace as “a sovereign symbol of the state in any province,” adding that “this sovereignty should not be contested.”

He also said efforts related to the release of detainees and the return of displaced people were still ongoing under the agreement between Damascus and the SDF.

The integration agreement, which was achieved on the back of a Syrian military campaign against Kurdish-led forces in Rojava in January, has seen SDF officials appointed within the Syrian state apparatus and linguistic and cultural guarantees offered to Kurds, though many remain skeptical of Damascus' willingness to accomodate its minority populations.

Footage circulated later on social media showed Kurdish protesters spray-painting over the Arabic text on the Justice Palace in Qamishli, though the Kurdish language was represented alongside the Arabic counterpart