Rivals Hamas and Fatah sign a declaration to form a future government

By Jack Jeffery, Tia Goldenberg and Huizhong Wu The Associated Press

5 months ago

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center, hosts an event for Mahmoud al-Aloul, left, vice chairman of Fatah, and Mussa Abu Marzuk, a senior member of Hamas, to meet at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (Pedro Pardo/Pool Photo via AP)

Mussa Abu Marzuk, a senior member of Hamas, right, signs a document as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second left, and Mahmoud al-Aloul, vice chairman of Fatah, look on during an event hosting the Palestinian factions to meet at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (Pedro Pardo/Pool Photo via AP)

Mahmoud al-Aloul, left, vice chairman of Fatah, shakes hands with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi during an event hosting al-Aloul for Fatah and Mussa Abu Marzuk, a senior member of Hamas, to meet at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (Pedro Pardo/Pool Photo via AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah agreed in Beijing to form a government together, the groups said Tuesday, in the latest attempt at resolving a long-standing rivalry that looms over any potential vision for the rule of Gaza after the war with Israel.

Previous similar declarations have failed, raising doubts about whether the China-sponsored negotiations might lead to reconciliation between Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for 17 years, and Fatah, the main force in the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority that administers parts of the West Bank.

The two groups issued a joint statement announcing the deal but gave no details on how or when the government would be formed, saying only that it would be done “by agreement among the factions.” Both sides said the accord, which provided no guarantees, was only an initial step, and they promised to follow up on previous reconciliation agreements signed in 2011 and 2022.

Israel and the United States rejected the pact. The U.S. and other Western countries have refused to accept any Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless it expressly recognizes Israel — a factor that has helped wreck past unity attempts, along with the factions’ own competition for power.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV announced that the two sides and other, smaller Palestinian factions signed the declaration on “ending division and strengthening Palestinian unity.” The agreement offered only broad outlines for how they would work together.

“There is an opportunity … but it is not big, because it lacks a specific timetable for implementation,” said Hani Al-Masry, an expert on Palestinian reconciliation affairs.

The declaration comes at a sensitive time, as the war in Gaza rages into its 10th month and as Israel and Hamas are weighing an internationally backed cease-fire proposal that would wind down the war and free dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists.

One of the thorniest issues is the question of who will run Gaza after the war. The unity efforts are motivated in part by Palestinians’ desire to offer a scenario for postwar rule.

But Israel vehemently opposes any role for Hamas, which it vowed to destroy after the the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack on southern Israel. It also has rejected U.S. calls for the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza after the fighting ends.

Reacting to the announcement out of China, Israel’s foreign minister said no joint governance between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza will take place “because Hamas’ rule will be crushed.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “We made clear we want to see the Palestinian Authority” with a governing role in Gaza, “but no, we do not want to see a role for Hamas,” which he said has “blood on its hands.”