Palestinian factions agree to form unity government

Palestinian factions including rivals Hamas and Fatah agreed to end their divisions and form an interim national unity government during negotiations in China that ended on Tuesday، China's foreign ministry said.

The Beijing Declaration was signed at the closing ceremony of a reconciliation dialogue among 14 Palestinian factions held in China's capital from July 21-23، according to the readout.

Previous efforts by Egypt and other Arab countries to reconcile Hamas and Fatah have failed to end 17 years ofpower-sharing conflictthat have weakened Palestinian political aspirations، and it remains to be seen whether this deal will survive the realities on the ground.

The meeting was held amid attempts by international mediators to reach a ceasefire deal forGaza، with one of the sticking points being the "day-after" plan - how the Hamas-run enclave will be governed once the war that began on Oct. 7 ends.

Building a formidable barrier

Senior Hamas official Hussam Badran said the most important point of the Beijing Declaration was to form a Palestinian national unity government to manage the affairs of Palestinians.

"This creates a formidable barrier against all regional and international interventions that seek to impose realities against our people's interests in managing Palestinian affairs post-war،" Badran said.

Two Fatah officials contacted by Reuters declined to comment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his goal is to destroy the Iran-backed Hamas group and opposes it having any role in a post war Gaza administration.

"Instead of rejecting terrorism، (Fatah leader) Mahmoud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas، revealing his true face. In reality، this won’t happen because Hamas' rule will be crushed، and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar. Israel's security will remain solely in Israel's hands،" Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X.

Badran said the national unity government would manage the affairs of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank، oversee reconstruction، and prepare conditions for elections.

Currently Hamas runs Gaza and Fatah forms the backbone of the Palestinian Authority، which has limited control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Details of the agreement did not set out a timeframe for forming a new government. In March، Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas، who heads Fatah، appointed a new government led by one of his close aides، Mohammad Mustafa.

Ashraf Abouelhoul، a specialist on Palestinian affairs، said previous similar declarations had not been implemented and nothing would happened without U.S. approval.

"Forming a unity government with Hamas is rejected by the United States، Israel، and Britain. There is a consensus among those countries to exclude Hamas from any role in the day after the war،" Abouelhoul said.

"What happened in China was nothing but a meeting، a celebratory event، but it is impossible to resolve the problems between Palestinian factions in just three days،" said Abouelhoul، managing editor of the Egyptian state-owned paper Al-Ahram.