Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Once again, China stepped on to the global diplomatic stage, in the absence of US involvement, and brokered a ground-breaking agreement between rival factions in Palestine. Following the March 2023 reconciliation between Middle East powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran signed in China, now we have the "Beijing Declaration" between Hamas and Fatah signed on July 23.
The agreement calls for a national unity government to govern Gaza jointly after the end of the current conflict that began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas attacked Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people. Hamas seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 44 the Israeli military says are dead.
US President Joe Biden promised he could deliver a ceasefire agreement on July 11 at the NATO summit, but soon found Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reneged on his acceptance of the Biden proposal for peace.
Israel's revenge attack on Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children, and the relentless Israeli attacks has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis. The UN and other humanitarian groups have labeled the Israeli war on Gaza as genocide.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a three-day meeting attended by senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk, Fatah envoy Mahmud al-Aloul, along with emissaries from 12 other Palestinian groups and envoys from Egypt, Algeria and Russia.
"The core achievement is to make it clear that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," said Wang Yi during the closing ceremony.
"China sincerely hopes that the Palestinian factions will achieve Palestinian independence at an early date on the basis of internal reconciliation, and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with relevant parties to jointly work to implement the Beijing Declaration reached today," said Wang Yi.
"Reconciliation is an internal matter for the Palestinian factions, but at the same time, it cannot be achieved without the support of the international community," Wang Yi said. China has proved to be the only world power that can engineer a rapprochement between the Palestinian rivals.
Wang Yi also called for a "comprehensive, lasting and sustainable ceasefire", as well as efforts to promote Palestinian self-governance and full recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN.
China is playing the role of a neutral actor on the Israel-Palestinian conflict while maintaining good ties with Israel, and also advocating for a two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war on Gaza until it destroys Hamas. The US and Israel view Hamas as a terrorist organization, and will not sanction any post-war plan for Gaza that includes Hamas.
Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters ejected Fatah from the Gaza Strip after Hamas's resounding victory in a 2006 election.
Fatah controls the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Fatah was formed from the PLO, which was founded by Yasser Arafat. In the 1993 Oslo Agreement, the PLO laid down their arms, while Hamas has remained an armed resistance group. The Geneva Convention guarantees the legal right of armed resistance to occupation.
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