Hamas and Fatah sign unity deal in Beijing to end years-long rift

New Delhi: Over a dozen Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah have agreed to end their differences to sign a unity deal in Beijing, Chinese state media said on Tuesday as Beijing continues its push to play a global peacemaker.

Gathering rival Palestinian factions to sign a deal comes over a year after Beijing brokered an unexpected deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“Representatives of 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, on Tuesday jointly pledged to end their divisions and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration,” state-run China Central Television (CCTV) said in a brief statement.

The representatives agreed to form an “interim national reconciliation government” to administer Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war ends.

The unity deal, called the ‘Beijing Declaration’ was signed at the closing ceremony of what Chinese state media termed as “reconciliation dialogue” held in Beijing between from July 21 and 23, the CCTV report said.

The announcement of the deal between bitter rivals Hamas and Fatah was made on a day when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington in the backdrop of – other than US’ own domestic political tumult- the nine-month long Israel-Hamas conflict with the Palestinian toll nearing 40000. Netanyahu is expected to meet President Joe Biden and today and address the US Congress on Wednesday.

The two primary political groups in Palestine, Fatah, according to Al Jazeera, controls Palestinian Authority with “partial administrative control” of West Bank while Hamas controls Gaza.

Beijing Declaration

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi hosted senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk and Fatah’s Mahmud al-Aloul besides representatives from dozen other groups for three days of closed-door negotiations to arrive at the deal.

“This marks the first time that representatives from 14 Palestinian factions have gathered in Beijing for reconciliation dialogue, bringing valuable hope to the long-suffering Palestinian people,” Mao Ning, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

“It (the declaration) emphasises the need to convene a broad and fully authorised international conference under the auspices of the UN, with regional and international participation,” Mao was quoted as saying in Chinese state media.

“The most core outcome is to make it clear that the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The most prominent highlight is the consensus reached on post-war governance of Gaza and the establishment of a provisional national reconciliation government. The strongest call is to achieve true independence for Palestine in accordance with relevant UN resolutions,” Mao said.

“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,” Marzouk was quoted as saying by news agency, AFP.

Beijing has projected itself as an international broker of peace after bringing hostile Tehran and Riyadh together for talks in March last year. Beijing brokered an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia on March 10, following five days of negotiations in Beijing, to restore diplomatic ties after a seven-year snap.

The unexpected trilateral talks, which reflected China’s expanding influence in West Asia, seemingly caught the US unawares and is being seen as a sign of Washington’s erosion of sway in the region.

“Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months, and agreed to hold talks between foreign ministers to arrange for the exchange of ambassadors and explore ways to strengthen bilateral relations,” the trilateral joint statement said on March 10 last year.

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