China says longtime rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah sign pact to end rift, propose unity government-InfoExpress

Fatah, the Palestinian group that administers the Israeli-occupied West Bank, along with a dozen other Palestinian factions, has signed a declaration with its longtime rival Hamas to form an interim unity government for the Palestinian territories after the war in Gaza, Chinese state media reported Tuesday. The declaration was signed in Beijing after three days of talks.

"The core achievement is to make it clear that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, referring to the West Bank administration run by Fatah. "The most prominent highlight has been the agreement on forming an interim national reconciliation government around the post-war governance of Gaza. The strongest call is for the realization of a truly independent Palestinian nation in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions."

Previous efforts by Arab countries to reconcile Fatah and Hamas, who rule over Gaza and sparked the ongoing war in the territory with their Oct. 7 attack on Israel, have failed. The long-term standoff between the groups has weakened political aspirations for Palestinian statehood.

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It was unclear whether the deal announced by China's state-run media, referred to as The Beijing Declaration, would survive the realities on the ground.

Mussa Abu Marzuk, senior member of the Palestinian group Hamas, signs a document as China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Mahmoud al-Aloul, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Palestinian political party Fatah, look on during the signing of the "Beijing declaration" at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 23, 2024. Pedro Pardo/Pool/AP

It was also unclear what role Hamas might play in an interim unity government, if any, as it is not part of the PLO and as both Israel and the United States have long deemed it a terrorist group.

Israel has made destroying Hamas one of the primary goals of its war in Gaza and, despite offering little to answer huge pressure from Washington and even Israel's own military calling for a post-war Gaza plan, the Israeli government has thus far ruled out any Hamas participation in a future Palestinian administration.

Hamas and its allied Gaza group Islamic Jihad have demanded that any agreement on a unity government include holding an election for the PLO parliament, which could secure their inclusion, according to the Reuters news agency.

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The declaration "creates a formidable barrier against all regional and international interventions that seek to impose realities against our people's interests in managing Palestinian affairs post-war," senior Hamas official Hussam Badran told Reuters. He said a unity government would oversee reconstruction in Gaza, manage the affairs of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and prepare the conditions for elections.

"Instead of rejecting terrorism, [Fatah leader] Mahmoud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face. In reality, this won't happen because Hamas' rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday in a social media post, adding: "Israel's security will remain solely in Israel's hands."

The declaration appeared to be the latest attempt by Beijing to exert its growing influence in the Middle East. Last year, China brokered a peace deal between long standing rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.