Hamas, Fatah sign landmark declaration in Beijing
Hamas on Tuesday announced it had signed an agreement in Beijing with other Palestinian organisations including rivals Fatah to work together for "national unity", with China describing it as a deal to rule Gaza together once the war ends. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk, Fatah envoy Mahmud al-Aloul and emissaries from 12 other Palestinian groups, said they had agreed to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern post-war Gaza. "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," Abu Marzuk said after meeting Wang and the other envoys. The Palestinian factions met with the media, with Wang present, CGTN said in a social media post. The declaration was signed at the closing ceremony of a reconciliation dialogue among the factions held in Beijing from July 21-23, CCTV said. This comes more than nine months into a war sparked by Hamas's attack on southern Israel last October, which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 44 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The relentless fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis. China has sought to play a mediator role in the conflict, which has been rendered even more complex due to the intense rivalry between Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which partially governs the occupied West Bank. Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it destroys Hamas, and world powers including key Israeli backer the United States have scrambled to imagine scenarios for the governance of Gaza once the war ends. As Tuesday's meeting wrapped up in Beijing, Wang said the groups had committed to "reconciliation". "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. "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. "China sincerely hopes that the Palestinian factions will achieve Palestinian independence at an early date on the basis of internal reconciliation, and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with relevant parties to jointly work to implement the Beijing Declaration reached today." (AFP/Reuters)