The two Palestinian factions signed in Beijing a reconciliation agreement, the groups said on Tuesday, July 23. It’s the latest attempt at resolving a longstanding rivalry that looms over any potential vision for the rule of Gaza, with China believing a role for Hamas in the post-war period cannot be dismissed.
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On Tuesday, July 23, China pulled out all the stops in order to obtain a joint document from Hamas and Fatah pledging Palestinian unity, positioning the country as a mediator − while still not settling the deep disputes among the factions. The two enemy parties, which have been meeting with the main Palestinian factions − 14 groups in all − in the Chinese capital since last Sunday, signed in the presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a joint “declaration on ending division and strengthening Palestinian unity.”
As the conflict in Gaza has entered its 10th month, the declaration calls, according to the Chinese side, for the creation of an “interim national reconciliation government around the post-war reconstruction of Gaza.” No timetable or details were given. “The key to the Palestinian reconciliation process is to bolster confidence, keep to the right direction and make incremental progress,” Wang said.
China has thereby moved to reinforce its diplomatic stature, casting itself as a mediator of reconciliations. It had already brokered in March 2023 a deal normalizing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia − although this was low-hanging fruit for Beijing. This time, however, differences have continued to linger over the substance. Two delegations from Hamas and Fatah had already visited the Chinese capital in April for several days of discussions, but the absence of a joint communiqué at the end of the talks meant that little concrete progress had been made.
‘Separating the Palestinians is a failure’
The People’s Republic of China has been a long-standing supporter of Palestine, even though it has strengthened its ties with Israel in recent years. Yet for a long time, it had thought that interfering in attempts to resolve the conflict would only produce blowback, so it kept its distance. Having gained in confidence and now positioned itself as offering a counter-approach to that of the United States, it has lately sought to achieve successful outcomes for which it could then claim credit.
In particular, welcoming Hamas, which carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has involved a highly different approach from that of the Americans or Europeans. “The ongoing conflict in Gaza shows that ignoring Hamas and separating the Palestinians is a failure that only produces the opposite of the desired result,” said Tang Zhichao, a Middle East specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, by way of argument.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington, where he was due to meet President Joe Biden. The same week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba paid a visit to Beijing that served as a reminder of the vital role of Chinese diplomacy in any attempt to resolve the other significant ongoing conflict.
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