Hamas and Fatah hold reconciliation talks in Beijing
Palestinian political groups Hamas and Fatah are concluding three days of intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks which have been held in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
The talks, which have been ongoing since Sunday with the backing of the Chinese government, have been attended by top teams from both groups, including Fatah’s deputy head Mahmoud Alloul and Hamas’s political leader Ismael Haniyeh.
“We, in the Fatah Movement, are open to solve and dismantle all obstacles in the way of reconciliation under the difficult conditions the Palestinian cause is going through along with the genocidal war on Gaza,” said Fatah’s senior leader Abdel Fattah Dawla.
Sharp disagreements on issues between Fatah and Hamas have resulted in the occupied West Bank and Gaza being politically divided since 2007.
The objectives of the two parties are effectively the same – creating a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 – but they remain divided on their attitude towards Israel, with Fatah advocating peaceful negotiations over armed resistance.
Fatah and Hamas officials attend intra-Palestinian talks in Moscow, Russia, in February 2019
Hamas says signed deal with Fatah in China calling for ‘national unity’
Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk announced that his group had signed an agreement.
“Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity and we call for it,” Abu Marzouk said.
Husam Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, has since said in a statement that the most important points of the deal are “forming a national consensus government to manage the affairs of Gaza and the West Bank, supervise reconstruction, and prepare the conditions for elections”.
“Forming a consensus government is the most appropriate solution for the Palestinian situation after the war, which will create an impregnable barrier against all interventions to impose facts against the interests of our people,” he added.
What does the Beijing declaration on Palestine governance say?
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, breaks down the key points of the agreement signed in China between 14 Palestinian factions, including rivals Fatah and Hamas.
- The groups declared the establishment of an interim national unity government that would be responsible for the West Bank and Gaza.
- Once Israel’s war on Gaza ends it will govern in “an important step as it blocks the Israeli efforts to create a collaborative structure against Palestinian interests”.
- The national unity government will be composed of leaders from all 14 Palestinian entities until elections are held.
- A new Palestinian National Council will then be formed through democratic and free elections.
- The groups are committed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 war.
With Palestinian deal, China eyes ‘responsible rising power’ status
As we previously reported, Palestinian factions signed a China-brokered “national unity government” agreement in Beijing.
Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, says China’s interest in the region stems from its desire to shape an “international rules-based order”.
“China wants to position itself as a responsible rising power interested in dialogue and in doing things differently than other great powers, especially the US,” Aboudouh told Al Jazeera.
“And subsequently shifting the international rules-based order to a more Sinocentric one based on different rules and principles,” he added.
To do so, Aboudouh said, the Chinese government wants to increase its influence over Palestinian factions and a future Palestinian state with the objective of securing a central role in any future arrangement between Israel and Palestine.
The inclusion of Hamas in the Beijing process means China sees the movement as a legitimate political entity and not just a fighting armed group. “They see the group as a representative of the social fabric of a future Palestinian state.”
Fatah official Mahmoud al-Aloul, left, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, centre, and Hamas’s Mussa Abu Marzouk in Beijing on Tuesday
Israel slams Abbas for signing post-war Gaza deal with Hamas
Foreign Minister Israel Katz has criticised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for signing a deal with Hamas aimed at establishing an interim national reconciliation government in Gaza after the war ends.
“Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face,” Katz said on X.
He said a Palestinian rule over the Strip will never materialise as Hamas will be crushed and Abbas “will be watching Gaza from afar”. “Israel’s security will remain solely in Israel’s hands,” he added.
