Several Palestinian groups signed a ‘national unity’ deal in China to end division amid Israel’s ongoing aggression in Gaza.
Representatives of 14 Palestinian fractions gathered in China’s Beijing this Tuesday and signed a ‘national unity’ deal to put an end to years of division and united against Israel’s ongoing aggression in Gaza.
Among the most known Palestinian groups who signed this deal were Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad group. “Today we signed an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity,” senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk said speaking to Chinese state media. “We are committed to national unity and we call for it,” he added.
The national unity deal was the product of three days of constant dialogue between the Palestinian groups in the Chinese capital that started on July 21 and ended this Tuesday.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative said that four main elements of this national unity agreement are “the establishment of an interim national unity government, the formation of unified Palestinian leadership ahead of future elections, the free election of a new Palestinian National Council, and a general declaration of unity in the face of ongoing Israeli attacks.” The move towards a unity government is especially important, he said, because it “blocks Israeli efforts to create some sort of collaborative structure against Palestinian interests”.
A historical deal to end internal rivalry in Palestine
A deal of reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah is of pivotal importance and a key turning point in internal Palestinian relations. This is mainly because the two main Palestinian political parties in the Palestinian territory have been at odds since conflict arose in 2006 when Hamas seized control of Gaza.
The two groups have different ideologies when it comes to dealing with Israel. While both consider Israel an occupying regime, Hamas, which led the October 7 attack on Israel, advocates for armed resistance against Israel’s occupation. Fatah, however, favors peaceful negotiations in pursuit of a Palestinian state. The group controls the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control of the occupied West Bank.
Initiating the deal between Fatah and Hamas, China said the deal would be “an agreement to rule the Gaza Strip together once the ongoing war ends.” While several reconciliation bids between rival Palestinian groups have failed in the past, calls for renewed efforts have grown since the start of the war. Hamas and Fatah had previously met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to put an end to 17 years of dispute.Bottom of Form
Israel rebuked the deal
Israel has always opposed any Hamas role in governing Gaza, and has openly asserted countless times that it intends to maintain its control of the Gaza Strip after the war ends. Strongly slamming the national unity deal, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz said this Wednesday that Israel won’t allow Hamas rule Gaza after the current war comes to an end.
Targeting Fatah chief and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for cooperating with Hamas, Katz reasserted that “instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face,”
“In reality, this won’t happen because Hamas’s rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar. Israel’s security will remain solely in Israel’s hands,” he also noted.
