RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a declaration in Beijing to end a years-long rift, Chinese state media said on Tuesday, taking a step toward a possible resolution of the deep divide between the sides. the war in gaza keep going.
The declaration by the two heavyweights of Palestinian politics – and other smaller Palestinian groups – to form a unity government for the Palestinian territories is the result of the latest in a series of talks aimed at uniting the parties.
But previous statements have failed, including a similar deal in 2011, raising questions about whether Chinese-sponsored talks could actually lead to a resolution. It also comes as Israel and Hamas are weighing an internationally backed ceasefire proposal that would end the nine-month war and free dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Still, Gaza’s future is undecided, and Israel vehemently opposes any role for Hamas in governing Gaza. He has also rejected US calls for the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza once the war ends. The lack of a post-war vision for governing the Gaza Strip has complicated ceasefire negotiations.
Since the current war in Gaza broke out almost 10 months ago, Hamas officials have said the party does not want to return to governing Gaza as it did before the conflict, and the group has called for an agreement to form a government of technocrats. by the various Palestinian factions, which would pave the way for elections in both Gaza and the West Bank, with the intention of forming a unified government.
The two groups signed the Beijing Declaration on “ending division and strengthening Palestinian unity,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly rejected the deal on Tuesday, stating that no joint governance between Hamas and Fatah will take place in Gaza “because the Hamas government will be crushed.”
The two rival Palestinian groups, along with 12 other political factions, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, concluding talks that began on Sunday, according to a post on the Chinese television network’s Weibo social media platform. CGTN.
The agreement also highlights China’s growing role in Middle East diplomacysuccessfully restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
“But China is certainly still in the process of trying to gain credibility as a global mediator,” said James Char, a researcher at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
A joint statement issued after the most recent talks in Beijing gave no details on how or when the government would be formed, saying only that it would be done “by agreement between the factions.” According to the joint statement, the two groups are committed to creating a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The agreement does not appear to bridge the two groups’ divergent positions on Israel. Hamas had previously said it would accept a state based on the 1967 borders, while refusing to officially recognize Israel. He Palestinian Authority dominated by FatahIn the meantime, it abides by the provisional peace agreements with Israel signed in the early 1990s.
The agreement signed by the Palestinian factions promised to follow up on previous reconciliation agreements signed in both 2011 and 2022.
“The understanding in China is based on expanding the scope of membership in the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) to include other factions that have not joined it,” including Hamas, said Jamal Nazzal, a spokesman for Fatah.
“There is a long road ahead and most of it will be implemented after a possible ceasefire,” he added.
Fatah and Hamas have been rivals since Hamas violently defeated Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ forces loyal to Fatah in Gaza in 2007, seizing the impoverished coastal enclave. The Palestinian Authority, dominated by Fatah and headed by Abbas, administers parts of the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian public considers him corrupt, out of touch and a subcontractor to Israel due to their joint security coordination.
Hamas The members have never been part of the PLO, the Palestinian government body responsible for international affairs. In a statement, Husam Badran, a Hamas political official based in Qatar, praised the agreement and described it as a “further positive step toward achieving Palestinian national unity.”
But Tuesday’s agreement does not have a strict timetable.
“There is an opportunity… but it is not big, because it lacks a specific timetable for its implementation,” said Hani Al-Masry, an expert on Palestinian reconciliation issues.
Repeated attempts to repair the rift have failed, blighted by bitter factional rivalry for power and the West’s refusal to accept any government that includes Hamas unless it expressly recognizes Israel.
The administration of US President Joe Biden imagine a renewed Palestinian Authority to govern postwar Gaza and has pursued a series of reforms that could make it a viable presence in the war-torn territory. Israel rejected that idea, but has not presented a credible alternative for who will govern Gaza.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group allied with Hamas, issued a statement Tuesday after the talks saying it still “rejects any formula that includes recognition of Israel explicitly or implicitly” and that it had “demanded withdrawal from the Organization.” of Palestine Liberation” recognition of Israel.”
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Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Wu reported from Bangkok. Abby Sewell contributed to this report from Beirut.
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