RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian leaders Hamas and Fatah have signed a declaration in Beijing vowing to form a joint government, the groups announced Tuesday, the latest attempt to resolve a long-standing conflict.
Both sides said the agreement, which gave no guarantees or deadlines, was just a first step. Previous similar declarations have failed, raising doubts whether the China-led negotiations can lead to a resolution between Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for the past 17 years, and Fatah, the main force in the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank.
Israel swiftly denounced the agreement, and the United States and other Western countries refuse to accept a Palestinian government unless Hamas explicitly recognizes Israel, which, along with power struggles between the factions, has helped undermine past attempts at unification.
China’s state-run CCTV broadcaster said the two sides and other smaller Palestinian factions had signed the Beijing Declaration to “end divisions and strengthen Palestinian unity,” pledging to form a unity government for the Palestinian territories. The agreement only broadly outlines how the two sides will work together.
“There is an opportunity, but it’s not a big one because there is no specific timetable for implementation,” said Hani al-Masri, an expert on Palestinian reconciliation issues.
This declaration: The war in Gaza The conflict is now in its 10th month as Israel and Hamas Internationally supported ceasefire proposal This will end the war and lead to the release of dozens of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
One of the thorniest issues is who will govern Gaza after the war, and unification efforts are partly motivated by a Palestinian desire to present a post-war governance scenario.
But Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and strongly opposes any role for it. It has also rejected U.S. demands that the Palestinian Authority govern the Gaza Strip after the fighting ends, but Israel has not offered a unified post-war vision of its own.
Fatah, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has been extremely reluctant to share power with its longtime rival. Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006. The following year, amid rising tensions, Hamas wiped out forces loyal to Abbas in the Gaza Strip and has controlled the impoverished coastal enclave ever since.
During the current war, Hamas officials have said the group has no intention of returning to control Gaza and instead advocates for a technocratic government agreed upon by Palestinian factions that would set up elections in Gaza and the West Bank with the intention of forming a unity government.
Reacting to the Chinese announcement, Israel’s foreign minister said there would be no joint Hamas-Fatah rule in Gaza because “Hamas’s rule will be shattered.”
The agreement also states: China’s Attempts to Expand Its Role in Middle East DiplomacyAfter successfully mediating the repair of Saudi Arabia-Iran relations.
“To be sure, China is still trying to gain credibility as a global mediator,” said James Char, a research fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Officials from Fatah, Hamas and 12 other factions met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, wrapping up talks that began on Sunday, Chinese broadcaster CGTN said in a post on social media platform Weibo.
The Palestinian factions issued a joint statement announcing the agreement but did not provide details on how or when a government would be formed, saying only that it would be established “through agreement between the factions.” The statement said they committed to abiding by previous reconciliation agreements signed in 2011 and 2022.
In a statement, all factions, including Hamas, said they were committed to establishing a Palestinian state on land seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.
Hamas directly called for the destruction of Israel in its original charter, but has said it would accept a Palestinian state. Based on the borders before the 1967 war However, it refuses to officially recognise Israel.
of Palestinian AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, recognizes Israel and operates within the framework of peace agreements signed in the early 1990s. The agreements were supposed to eventually lead to the establishment of a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but talks have been stalled for years and the Palestinian Authority has jurisdiction over only an isolated enclave in the West Bank. Many Palestinians see the Palestinian Authority as corrupt, naive and an Israeli subcontractor for joint security coordination.
Fatah spokesman Jamal Nazar said the unified announcement was based on the expansion of the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization’s membership to include Hamas.
“There is still a long way to go and most of it will be implemented after the ceasefire is in place,” he added.
Hamas The members have never been members of the PLO, the umbrella group for the Palestinian factions that back the Palestinian Authority. Husam Badran, a Qatar-based Hamas political leader, called the agreement “another positive step towards a united Palestinian state.”
US President Joe Biden’s Administration Envisioning a revamped Palestinian Authority Israel has ruled Gaza since the war and has called for reforms to allow it to maintain its presence in the war-torn territory, an idea it rejects.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a small militant group allied with Hamas, issued a statement after the meeting saying it “rejects any form of explicit or implicit recognition of Israel” and “demanded the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s recognition of Israel.”
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Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Wu from Bangkok. Abby Sewell contributed to this report from Beirut.
