Fatah, the Palestinian group that administers the Israeli-occupied West Bank, along with a dozen other Palestinian factions, signed a declaration with its longtime rival Hamas to form an interim unity government for the Palestinian territories after the Gaza war, Chinese state media reported Tuesday. The declaration was signed in Beijing after three days of negotiations.
“The main result is to have clearly established that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, referring to the Fatah-led administration of the West Bank. “The highlight was the agreement on the formation of an interim government of national reconciliation around the post-war governance of Gaza. The strongest call is for the realization of a truly independent Palestinian nation in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.”
Previous efforts by Arab countries to reconcile Fatah and Hamas, which rule Gaza and sparked the revolt ongoing war on the territory Palestinian attempts to launch an attack on Israel on October 7 failed. The long-running confrontation between the two groups has weakened political aspirations for a Palestinian state.
It was unclear whether the deal announced by Chinese state media, called the “Beijing Declaration,” would survive realities on the ground.
Pedro Pardo/Pool/AP
It is also unclear what role Hamas might play in an interim unity government, if one takes place, since it is not part of the PLO and Israel and the United States have long considered it a terrorist group.
Israel has made the destruction of Hamas one of the main objectives of its war in Gaza, and while it has offered few answers, enormous pressure From Washington and even the Israeli military itself, which is calling for a post-war plan for Gaza, the Israeli government has so far ruled out any participation of Hamas in a future Palestinian administration.
Hamas and its Gaza ally, Islamic Jihad, have demanded that any agreement on a national unity government include elections to the PLO parliament, which could ensure their inclusion, according to Reuters news agency.
The statement “creates a formidable barrier against all regional and international interventions that seek to impose realities contrary to the interests of our people in the management of Palestinian affairs after the war,” senior Hamas official Hussam Badran told Reuters. He said a unity government would oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, manage the affairs of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and prepare conditions for elections.
“Instead of rejecting terrorism, [Fatah leader] “Mahmoud Abbas is embracing the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face. In reality, this will not happen because Hamas’ power will be crushed and Abbas will watch Gaza from afar,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post on Tuesday, adding: “Israel’s security will remain solely in Israel’s hands.”
The statement appears to be Beijing’s latest attempt to exert its growing influence in the Middle East. Last year, China negotiated a peace deal between longtime rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.
