14 Palestinian Factions Sign Beijing Declaration, Hamas: Most Important Points For Forming Unity Governments

JAKARTA - The formation of a national unity government is an important point from the Beijing Declaration signed by 14 Palestinian factions to end the split, said a senior Hamas official, after a meeting in the Chinese capital.

14 Palestinian factions held a meeting in Beijing, China on July 21-23, including the Hamas and Fatah groups. This meeting was attended by high representatives of each faction.

The most important point of Beijing's declaration is to form a Palestinian national unity government to manage Palestinian affairs, senior Hamas official Hussam Badran said.

Badran praised China in a statement for its significant efforts to host the negotiations and reach the declaration.

"This declaration comes at an important time because our people are facing a war of genocide, especially in the Gaza Strip," Badran said in the statement.

He further said the agreement was "an additional positive step towards achieving the Palestinian national unity".

He also said the national unity government would manage the affairs of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, oversee reconstruction, and prepare conditions for general elections. This is Hamas' position, which he has been calling for and proposed since the first weeks of fighting.

"This creates a formidable barrier to all regional and international interventions seeking to impose a reality that goes against the interests of our people in managing postwar Palestinian affairs," Badran said.

It is known that the rival factions, Hamas and Fatah, first met in Beijing in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end a dispute that has been going on for about 17 years. This is the first time a Hamas delegation has been known by the public to have visited China since the war in Gaza began.

The long-standing rival Palestinian factions failed to resolve their political disputes after Hamas fighters expelled Fatah from Gaza in a brief war in 2007.

The Bamboo Curtain country itself has increased advocacy for Palestinians in international forums in recent months, calling for a larger scale Israeli-Palestinian peace conference and a special schedule to implement two-state solutions.