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In a statement issued at the end of yesterday’s meeting, representatives of the various factions agreed to form a provisional national unity government, unify West Bank and Gaza institutions, begin reconstruction work in the Gaza Strip, and prepare for elections as soon as possible. Possibly sooner.
The Times of Israel reported that the date for the election and the formation of a new government has not yet been set, but the announcement said a timetable would be determined.
In the final statement, the factions “committed themselves to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital” and to “guarantee the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the 1948 United Nations decision.”
The factions further agreed to the Palestinians’ right to “resist and end the occupation” under international law.
The summit was attended by 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority, and militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Deadly clashes followed Hamas’s landslide victory in 2006 elections, with Hamas fighters forcing Fatah to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
The militant group’s delegation in the Chinese capital, led by senior official Musa Abu Marzouk, reportedly interrupted bilateral talks with Fatah officials the day before yesterday, which were supposed to prepare for yesterday’s summit.
“Today we are signing an agreement on national unity and we declare that national unity is the only way to complete this process. We guarantee our support for national unity,” Abu Marzouq said.
Previous attempts at reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah have failed, but calls for reconciliation have increased since October 7, and violence has increased in the West Bank, where Fatah is headquartered.
A round of talks hosted by China was held in Moscow in February and April this year.
A meeting originally scheduled for June in the Chinese capital was postponed until this week.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed the signing of an agreement by 14 Palestinian factions that provides for the establishment of a transitional government of national reconciliation in the Gaza Strip after the war.
“The most important part of the agreement provides for the establishment of a transitional government of national reconciliation after the Gaza war,” Wang said after the Palestinian factions signed a joint statement.
Fatah, founded by longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and Fatah’s rival Hamas, which waged a war against Israel in Gaza, have been rivals since Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority out of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 following more than a year of political crisis and violence following parliamentary elections.
However, Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has once again sparked calls for negotiations between the two Palestinian factions.
Chinese diplomacy estimates that this could promote internal reconciliation in Palestine.
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