Breakthrough for Palestine Reconciliation

On the last day, the group signed the “Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity.”　

On July 23, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said that the declaration commends China’s sincere effort to support the rights of the Palestinians, end division and bring about a unified position among the Palestinian factions. According to Mao, the parties agreed to realize national unity among all factions under the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. They also reaffirmed a commitment to establishing an independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital.　

The parties pledged to establish an interim national reconciliation government, carry out reconstruction, and prepare and hold a general election in Gaza once the war stops. They agreed to set up a collective mechanism to fully implement the declaration and create a timetable for the implementation process.　

Responding to a question about the prospect that the Beijing Declaration will be implemented, Mao Ning said that “Peace will not be accomplished overnight, but as long as the effort is in the right direction, we must keep at it and never lose faith.”　

The same day, Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister who helped to facilitate the talks and attended the signing ceremony of the Beijing Declaration, said that the agreement is “an important historical moment in the Palestinian liberation cause.”　

“Reconciliation is an internal affair of all Palestinian factions, and cannot be achieved without the support of the international community,” Wang said, “On the road to promoting reconciliation, China shares the same direction and goals as the vast majority of Arab and Islamic countries.”　

Wang proposed a three-step initiative to address the ongoing Gaza conflict: promoting a comprehensive, lasting, and sustainable ceasefire, upholding the principle of “Palestinians governing Palestine” in the post-war governance of Gaza, and implementing the two-state solution with Palestine becoming a full member of the UN.

According to Gaza Strip health authorities, as of August 5, the Israeli military has killed more than 39,600 people including at least 15,000 children and injured 91,400 people since the war started, with tens of thousands more believed to be buried under the rubble.　

In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest court, ordered “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the risk of genocide by ensuring sufficient humanitarian assistance and enabling basic services.　

On May 20, the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.　

On July 19, The ICJ issued an advisory opinion, saying that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “is unlawful.”　

China has recently become increasingly vocal about its position on the issue. In a speech delivered at the 10th ministerial conference of the ChinaArab States Cooperation Forum held in May, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated that China supports the creation of an independent state of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.　

“War should not continue indefinitely, justice should not be absent forever, and commitment to the two-state solution should not be wavered at will,” Xi added.　

A major focus of China’s diplomatic endeavors is to facilitate reconciliation among the Palestinian factions, most importantly between Hamas and Fatah. The two main Palestinian political rival parties have been competing for power and influence for years. Following Hamas’s victory in the 2006 legislative election in the Palestinian Territories, which later led to open clashes between the two groups, Hamas governed Gaza and Fatah ruled the Israeli-occupied West Bank.　

The two-state solution, which involves creating an independent Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel, is widely recognized by the international community as the most viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, with the lack of a unity government that can represent all Palestinian people, along with Israel’s rejection of the plan, the solution has remained on paper.　

China is trying to promote Palestinian unity. In April, China hosted the first meeting between Hamas and Fatah since the Israel-Hamas conflict.　

According to Wang Guangda, a professor at Shanghai Foreign Studies University and executive director of the China-Arab Reform and Development Research Center, the reconciliation deal reached by the Palestinian parties in Beijing, along with the Saudi-Iran agreement brokered by China last year, showcased China’s consistent role as a “proactive, trustworthy and reliable” mediator.　

“China has never resorted to military force to pursue its geopolitical self-interests, or to impose its will on others,” Wang told NewsChina, “Instead, it has consistently supported the Middle Eastern people in independently exploring development paths and resolving differences through dialogue and consultation.”　

Wang’s view is echoed by Liu Zhongming, professor and director of the Middle East Studies Institute (MESI) of Shanghai International Studies University. “China was one of the first countries to recognize the PLO and the state of Palestine, and it has long adhered to principles of fairness and justice, insisting on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution,” Liu told NewsChina.　

“China’s approach to the Middle East has earned the trust of regional countries, particularly various Palestinian factions, allowing it to play a crucial role in promoting reconciliation,” Liu said.

Many experts noted that what makes the Beijing Declaration different from previous deals is that the exacerbating humanitarian crisis in the current conflict has provided a strong motivation for Palestine factions, including Hamas and Fatah, to foster a united front.　

On one hand, as Hamas has suffered significant losses during the conflict, it has become more willing to pursue reconciliation and soften its position on certain issues; on the other hand, Fatah is under increasing pressure as it has failed to rally enough international support to stop Israel’s war atrocities in Gaza and found itself impotent to prevent Israel from expanding its military strikes on the occupied West Bank and further expanding settlements.　

According to Liu Chang, an assistant research fellow at the Department for Developing Countries Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, discussions by the US and Israel on the “post-war” arrangement, which not only explicitly excludes Hamas, but also potentially Fatah, also raised serious concerns among all Palestinian factions that their internal conflicts will further undermine their struggles.　

“The brutal conflict in Gaza and the ensuing humanitarian disaster have injected a strong sense of crisis and urgency among Palestine factions to achieve unity and solidarity to save their country,” Liu wrote in a commentary published by Chinese media outlet The Paper.　

For Niu Xinchun, professor and executive director of the China-Arab Research Institute of Ningxia University, a major difference between the Beijing Declaration and previous reconciliation deals is that Hamas agreed to join with the PLO.　

For a long time, Hamas rejected the two-state solution, instead aiming for the establishment of a Greater Palestine that includes not only Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but also territories of the state of Israel. This position is at odds with the PLO, which signed the Oslo Accords with the Israeli government under Yitzhak Rabin in 1993 and 1995.　

But it appears that Hamas has significantly softened its stance. On April 25, Khalil al-Hayya, a top Hamas political official said that the group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.　

Agreeing on unity under the framework of the PLO under the Beijing Declaration means that “Hamas will hold talks with Fatah on joining the PLO,” Niu told Beijing Daily on July 23, “It also means that Hamas is ready to accept the two-state solution,” Niu added.　

On the Israeli side, peace prospects appear to be growing. As the Israeli government is facing mounting pressure from the international community, the feasibility of the two-state solution also seems to have increased since the Israel-Hamas war. For example, Alon Liel, a former spokesperson of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with NewsChina in June that he believes that the chance of rebooting the two-state solution has already risen to about 50 percent from less than 5 percent. He explained that, as the Palestine issue has become a focal point of the UN, more and more countries around the world have expressed support for Palestine’s statehood and UN membership, and there is concern in Israel over the country’s isolation in the international community.

But in a social media post on July 23, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the reconciliation “won’t happen because Hamas’s rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar.”　

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas as its central war aim in Gaza and has indicated that it will not relinquish control of the enclave or allow the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority to become the governing power there.　

In past years, Israel has reportedly not only taken advantage of but has sought to sow division among Palestinians in an attempt to reduce international pressure for it to engage in any meaningful negotiations on the two-state solution.　

“For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank – bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making moves that propped up Hamas,” wrote Tal Schieder, a columnist with the Times of Israel in an article published on December 10, 2023. “The idea was to prevent Abbas – or anyone else in the Palestinian Authority’s West Bank government – from advancing toward the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Schieder added.　

Most Western countries have remained silent over the deal. On July 23, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterated Washington’s opposition to any Hamas involvement in a Palestinian government. “But no, we do not support a role for Hamas,” Miller said. No senior US official, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made any direct comment on the deal. Officially listing Hamas as a terrorist organization, the US and other Western nations have long refused to recognize any Palestinian government that includes Hamas representatives.　

Several previous reconciliation agreements between Fatah and Hamas went nowhere. In a commentary published on July 29, Liu Yanting, a columnist with Chinese media guancha.cn, stressed that one of the major reasons behind the failure of previous reconciliation efforts has been the opposition of Israel and the West.　

For example, in April 2011, with the facilitation of Egypt, Fatah and Hamas reached the Cairo Agreement on forming an interim government in preparation for the elections for a new Palestinian government. Israel immediately reacted by withholding tax revenue to the Palestine Authority. The US also voiced its objection toward any Hamas involvement in a Palestine government. As Hamas and Fatah later failed to agree on various other issues, the agreement soon collapsed.

“Israel’s targeted assassination of Haniyeh has no doubt further complicated the situation, making the likelihood of reaching a ceasefire agreement in the short term even smaller,” Niu Xinchun told NewsChina, “To placate far-right factions [within Israel], Netanyahu might not have intended to reach a ceasefire agreement at all,” he added.　

As much of the Beijing Declaration is on the arrangement of a Palestine unity government after the end of the war and a ceasefire is dubbed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as the first step of his three-step initiative to solve the Palestine issue, the recent development has no doubt dampened China’s efforts.　

During phone talks held on August 6 with his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts, Wang condemned the assassination of Haniyeh, saying that it violates the basic principles of the UN Charter, infringes on Iran’s sovereignty and dignity, severely undermines efforts to promote peace, and makes a ceasefire in Gaza increasingly unattainable. Wang pledged that China will continue to support efforts to achieve a permanent and full ceasefire in Gaza and called on the international community to unite behind the issue.　

“Retaliatory action leads to a vicious cycle, and violence begets more violence, exacerbating conflict. There should be no double standards when it comes to the Gaza conflict,” Wang said.