Palestinian Factions Sign Unity Agreement at Beijing Conference

Fatah and Hamas, along with smaller Palestinian contingents, announced Tuesday that the rival groups will form a joint government in post-war Gaza after participating in Chinese-led mediation this week. The decision came after several days of meetings in Beijing aimed at resolving decades of animosity between the often fragmented participants.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted the delegations, described his efforts as “dedicated to the great reconciliation and unity of all 14 factions.”

“The core outcome is that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of all Palestinian people,” Wang continued, adding that “an agreement has been reached on post-Gaza war governance and the establishment of a provisional national reconciliation government.”

The pact was quickly denounced by Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, who criticized Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas for “embracing the murderers and rapists of Hamas,” while doubting the effectiveness of the deal because “Hamas’s rule will be crushed” by his country’s armed forces.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller shared Katz’s objections to the proposal, reaffirming the White House’s position that any administrative role for Hamas in the coastal enclave is unacceptable because the terrorist organization has “blood on its hands.”

Similar attempts to harmonize the differences between Fatah and Hamas have been unsuccessful since the two political movements failed to reach a power-sharing arrangement after the 2006 Palestinian legislative vote. The schism resulted in the cancellation of subsequent elections and contributed to the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza.

The conference took place against a backdrop of China’s growing ambition to expand its influence in Middle East diplomacy, exemplified by Beijing’s mediation in the 2023 rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic.