BEIJING: Various Palestinian factions agreed to end divisions and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration in China on Tuesday morning, according to Chinese state media.
The statement was signed at the closing ceremony of the factional reconciliation dialogue held in Beijing from July 21 to 23, state broadcaster CCTV said.
A total of 14 Palestinian factions, including the leaders of rival groups Fatah and Hamas, also met with the media, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in attendance, CGTN said in a social media post.
The rival factions Hamas and Fatah met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end some 17 years of disputes.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed the agreement between 14 Palestinian factions to establish an “interim government of national reconciliation” to rule Gaza after the war.
Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, met in Beijing this week in a renewed attempt at reconciliation.
At the end of Tuesday's meeting, China's top diplomat said the groups had pledged to “reconcile.”
“The most prominent is the agreement to form an interim government of national reconciliation around the governance of post-war Gaza,” Wang said after the signing of the “Beijing Declaration” by factions in the Chinese capital.
“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 said.
China, he added, wants to “play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip following deadly clashes that followed Hamas' resounding election victory in 2006.
The Islamist movement Hamas has ruled Gaza since taking control of it in 2007.
The secular Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority, which holds partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
