Palestinian Factions Agree to End Divisions, Form National Unity Govt

(L-R) Mahmoud al-Aloul, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of Palestinian organization and political party Fatah, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Mussa Abu Marzuk, senior member Hamas, attend an event at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP)

Various Palestinian factions including rivals Hamas and Fatah have agreed to end their divisions and form a national unity government during negotiations in China.
The Beijing Declaration was signed at the closing ceremony of a reconciliation dialogue among the factions held in China's capital from July 21-23, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Senior Hamas official Hussam Badran said the most important point of the Beijing Declaration was to form a Palestinian national unity government to manage the affairs of Palestinians.
A total of 14 Palestinian factions including the leaders of Fatah and Hamas also met with the media, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi present, CGTN said in a social media post.
Badran praised China in a statement for its significant effort to host the talks and reach such a declaration.
"This declaration comes at an important time as our people are facing a genocidal war, especially in the Gaza Strip," the statement quoted Badran as saying.
He said the agreement was an "additional positive step towards achieving Palestinian national unity".
Badran said a national unity government would manage the affairs of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, oversee reconstruction, and prepare conditions for elections. This was the position of Hamas, which it called for and proposed since the first weeks of the battle.
"This creates a formidable barrier against all regional and international interventions that seek to impose realities against our people's interests in managing Palestinian affairs post-war," said Badran.
But previous declarations have failed, including a similar deal in 2011, casting doubt over whether the China-sponsored negotiations might actually lead to a resolution.
A joint statement issued after the most recent talks in Beijing gave no details on how or when the government would be formed, saying only that it would be done “by agreement among the factions.”
According to the joint statement, the two groups are committed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.