Various Palestinian factions, including rivals Hamas and Fatah, have signed a declaration to form a joint government during negotiations sponsored by the Chinese communist regime.
The Beijing Declaration was signed at the end of reconciliation talks held in China’s capital from July 21 to 23, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry, reported by Chinese state media.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk, Fatah Vice Chair Mahmoud al-Aloul, and representatives from 12 smaller Palestinian groups in Beijing, said they had agreed to establish an “interim national reconciliation government” to rule the Gaza Strip once a cease-fire is reached between Israel and Hamas.
The declaration includes a commitment to “end divisions and strengthen unity,” said the Chinese diplomat, without mentioning details on how or when a unity government would be formed. It also recognizes the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the “sole legitimate representative of all the Palestinian people.”
The PLO was founded in 1964 as an umbrella organization advancing the goal of Palestinian statehood. Fatah has long stayed at the helm of both the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, which now administers part of the West Bank.
Hamas members have never been part of the PLO. The Iran-backed terrorist group has a record of refusing to share power, including in 2007, when Hamas routed Fatah and seized control of Gaza after winning a majority of seats in the previous year’s elections.
Israel criticized Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas for seeking to co-govern Gaza with Hamas, which ignited the current war on Oct. 7, 2023, with an unprecedented invasion of southern Israel.
Since last October’s terrorist attack, Israel has stood by its goal to uproot Hamas from Gaza and has resisted the suggestion that Hamas be given any role in a post-war Gaza administration.
Reacting to Beijing’s endorsement of a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, Mr. Katz dismissed such an idea as unrealistic, saying that when the war ends, there will be no Hamas left to make a joint government with.
“In reality, this won’t happen because Hamas’s rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar,” he wrote. “Israel’s security will remain solely in Israel’s hands.”
The declaration comes as Israel and Hamas continue to negotiate a deal that would see the end of fighting in Gaza, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and the safe return of all the remaining Israeli hostages.
During the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas terrorists launched a spree of killing and kidnapping of Israeli civilians, leaving some 1,200 people dead and 251 taken as hostages.
Beijing Expands Influence in Middle East
The declaration also marks another attempt by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to expand its diplomatic reach into the Middle East, positioning itself as an alternative to the United States in mediating conflicts.Last year, Iranian and Saudi Arabian officials met in Beijing and signed a deal to resume diplomatic relations between the two Gulf countries. The Saudi–Iranian deal is seen as the CCP’s attempt to achieve parity with the U.S.-facilitated Abraham Accords, which normalized ties between Israel and four Arab states.
As part of its global influence operation, the CCP has sought to forge closer ties with terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Taliban.
In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the almost immediate takeover of the country by the Taliban in 2021, China was one of the few countries to have maintained a diplomatic mission in Kabul. In February, the CCP formally recognized a Taliban envoy as the Afghan ambassador to Beijing, the first in the world to do so since the terrorist group seized power.
