BEIJING: Various Palestinian factions agreed to end differences and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration in China on Tuesday morning, Chinese state media reported.
The declaration was signed at the closing ceremony of the inter-group reconciliation dialogue held in Beijing on July 21-23, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
A total of 14 Palestinian factions, including leaders of rival groups Fatah and Hamas, also met with the media, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in attendance, CGTN reported in a social media post.
Rival factions Hamas and Fatah met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end some 17 years of strife.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed the agreement by 14 Palestinian factions to form 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 new attempt at reconciliation.
As the meeting ended on Tuesday, China's top diplomat said the groups had committed to “reconciliation”.
“The most notable moment is the agreement to establish an interim government of national reconciliation around the governance of post-war Gaza,” Wang said after the signing of the “Beijing Declaration” by the 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, is ready to “play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas militants drove Fatah out of 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 has partial administrative control over the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
