With the signing of the “Beijing Declaration” following negotiations in China’s Capital Beijing on July 22-23, all fourteen Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, have agreed to end division and unify on an interim basis, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The factions met as international mediators attempted to secure a ceasefire agreement for Gaza, with one of the sticking issues being the “day-after” plan, which outlines how the Hamas-run enclave will be managed once the current war on Gaza ends.
Hussam Badran, a senior Hamas leader, stated that the most significant component of the Beijing Declaration was the formation of a Palestinian national unity government to administer Palestinian issues.
Badran stated that the national unity government will administer the affairs of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, supervise rehabilitation, and prepare for elections.
Currently, Hamas governs Gaza, while Fatah forms the backbone of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited influence over the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Fatah offered no immediate reaction to the deal.
The accord does not specify a deadline for assembling a new government. In March, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads Fatah, formed a new administration led by Mohammad Mustafa, one of his closest advisers.
Nonetheless, the pact is a diplomatic victory for Beijing and its expanding Middle Eastern power, coming after it engineered a breakthrough peace deal between longtime regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran last year.
“The core achievement,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the closing ceremony, “is to make it clear that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that his objective is to “eliminate Iran-backed Hamas” and that it should not play any part in post-war Gaza governance.
“Instead of rejecting terrorism, [Fatah leader] Mahmoud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted on X. “In reality, this won’t happen because Hamas’ rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar.”
Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not members of the PLO, the Palestinians’ top decision-making body, but they insist that any unity agreement must include an election for the PLO parliament to ensure their membership. Islamist factions are at war with the present PLO over peace talks with Israel.
Rival groups Hamas and Fatah initially met in Beijing in April to discuss reconciliation attempts to end nearly 17 years of conflict, the first time a Hamas team has been publicly acknowledged by a visit to China since the Gaza war began.
Given that Egypt and other Arab countries had failed to resolve 17 years of power-sharing strife, undermining Palestinian democratic aspirations, it remains to be seen whether this agreement will withstand the realities on the ground.