BEIJING: Various Palestinian factions agreed to end their divisions and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration on Tuesday morning in China, according to Chinese state media.
The statement was signed at the closing ceremony of reconciliation talks between the parties held in Beijing on July 21-23, state broadcaster CCTV said.
14 Palestinian factions including the leaders of rival factions Fatah and Hamas also met with the media, along with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, CGTN said in a social media post.
Rival parties Hamas and Fatah met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end the nearly 17-year conflict.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed the agreement by 14 Palestinian factions to form an “interim reconciliation government” to govern Gaza after the conflict.
Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah met in Beijing this week to renew talks on reconciliation.
As the meeting ended on Tuesday, China's top diplomat said the groups had made “reconciliation”.
“The most prominent is the agreement to form an interim reconciliation government around the administration of Gaza after the war,” Wang said after the parties signed the “Beijing Declaration” in the Chinese capital.
“Reconciliation is an internal matter for the Palestinian side, but at the same time, it cannot be done without the support of the international community,” Wang said.
China, he added, wanted to “play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters drove Fatah out of the Gaza Strip following deadly clashes that followed Hamas's 2006 election victory.
The Islamist movement Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007.
The secularist Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority, which has administrative control over the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
