The Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas have been enemies for years. Now, according to Chinese state media, they have settled their dispute. Foreign Minister Baerbock was skeptical.
Apparently 14 Palestinian groups met in China and signed a joint declaration to end their long-standing dispute. Among them were the rival groups Fatah and Hamas – Chinese state media reported.
In addition to an “end to division,” the declaration also calls for a “strengthening of Palestinian unity,” as broadcaster CCTV reported. No further details were given.
The moderate Fatah controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The militant Islamist Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 and expelled representatives of the Authority. Hamas and Fatah first promised to end their rivalry in 2011. But attempts to form a unity government have repeatedly failed.
Hamas: We demand national unity
According to the AFP news agency, high-ranking Hamas representative Musa Abu Marsuk confirmed that his group had signed the declaration. “We are committed to national unity and we demand it,” Abu Marsuk continued. Fatah, however, has not yet confirmed this.
According to AFP, China's chief diplomat Wang added that reconciliation was “an internal matter for the Palestinian groups.” At the same time, it “cannot be achieved without the support of the international community.” His country wanted to play a “constructive role in ensuring peace and stability” in the Middle East.
In the past, China has shown solidarity with the Palestinian cause and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This envisages an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel. Beijing had already received the two rival Palestinian organizations Hamas and Fatah in April for talks on “intra-Palestinian reconciliation.”
PNI praises new quality of the agreement
The Secretary General of the co-signatory Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), Mustafa Barghouti, praised the new quality of the agreement compared to previous treaties. Its main points, he said, are the establishment of an interim national unity government, the formation of a unified Palestinian leadership in the run-up to future elections, the free election of a new Palestinian National Council and a general declaration of unity in the face of ongoing Israeli attacks.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, however, was skeptical. Such announcements had been made before, said the Green Party politician in Berlin. “The very first step would be for Hamas to finally release all hostages and stop the terror,” demanded Baerbock.
The most important thing is to finally end the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and to achieve peace in the Middle East – not just de-escalation and a ceasefire.
Israel criticizes rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah
Criticism of the rapprochement between the Palestinian groups came from Israel. Foreign Minister Israel Katz took aim at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Instead of rejecting terror, he “embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas and thereby reveals his true face,” Katz wrote on Platform X. Israel will not allow it to come to that and will instead crush the rule of the terrorist organization Hamas.
Neither Israel nor its close ally the United States accept Hamas's participation in a post-war order for the Gaza Strip. Israel wants Hamas to be crushed and no longer pose a threat after the terrorist organization's unprecedented attack on its territory on October 7, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
