Hamas announces 'national unity' deal with other Palestinian factions

The Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement says it has signed an agreement in Beijing with other Palestinian factions, including Fatah, to work together for “national unity,” with Chinese officials describing it as a deal aimed at maintaining Palestinian rule over Gaza once the bloody Israeli onslaught ends.

“Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity and we call for it,” Hamas political bureau member, Mousa Abu Marzook, said on Tuesday after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and emissaries from other Palestinian groups, namely Fatah, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

Wang, for his part, said the Palestinian envoys had agreed to set up an “interim national reconciliation government” to govern post-war Gaza.

“The most prominent highlight is the agreement to form an interim national reconciliation government around the governance of post-war Gaza,” he said, following the signing of the “Beijing Declaration” by the factions in the Chinese capital.

“Reconciliation is an internal matter for the Palestinian factions, but at the same time, it cannot be achieved without the support of the international community,” Wang said.

Palestinian groups Fatah, Hamas meet in Algeria to heal rift

The leaders of Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas have met for two-day talks in Algeria aimed at ending their rift.

China, he added, was keen to “play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability” in the West Asia region.

Beijing, Wang said, called for a “comprehensive, lasting and sustainable ceasefire”, as well as efforts to promote Palestinian self-governance and full recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN.

Meanwhile, Hamas said in a statement that the Palestinian factions welcomed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that said Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible.”

It called for the implementation of agreements struck with the help of Egypt, Algeria, China and Russia, which demand an end to divisions among Palestinian groups.

Hamas went on to highlight that the Palestinian factions reaffirmed their commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with al-Quds as its capital in accordance with international resolutions, particularly 181 and 2334, and the Palestinian right of return.

The statement noted that Palestinian groups will work to reach a consensus on formation of a temporary national unity government, which will exercise sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, holy al-Quds, and the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian envoys also agreed to resist and thwart Israeli attempts aimed at displacement of Palestinians from their ancestral homes in the West Bank, al-Quds and the Gaza Strip.

The emissaries reached an agreement as well to strive for the removal of the Gaza blockade and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid into the coastal territory.

The announcement of the Palestinian ‘national unity’ deal comes more than nine months after Israel launched the war on Gaza following Palestinian resistance groups’ surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

So far during the military onslaught, the regime has killed at least 39,006 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents. Another 89,818 Palestinians have sustained injuries as well.

China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and supportive of a so-called two-state solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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