Hamas And Fatah Meet In Beijing, China: Agree To Continue Talks For Palestinian Unity

Palestinian illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Joi Ito)

JAKARTA - China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, Hamas and Fatah expressed a political willingness to reconcile through dialogue for Palestinian unity, when the two rival groups met in Beijing.

"Representation of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement and Islamic Resistance Group arrived in Beijing a few days ago for in-depth and honest dialogue," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

"They agreed to continue talks to achieve the realization of solidarity and Palestinian unity as soon as possible," he continued.

Lin said representatives of the two groups were invited by China to have a dialogue on the promotion of Palestinian reconciliation, "discusing on many specific issues and achieving encouraging progress," quoted from AP.

The two Palestinian factions have failed to cure political disputes since Hamas fighters expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip in a brief civil war in 2007. Talks between the two sides this time took place against Israel's war background against Hamas in Gaza.

Lin said the two factions thanked Beijing for its efforts to "promoting the internal unity of Palestine and reach an agreement for further dialogue."