The main Palestinian factions, including rivals Hamas and Fatahsigned an agreement to “end the division and strengthen the unity of PalestineAccording to Chinese state media, the announcement came after reconciliation talks that began last Sunday in the Chinese city of Beijing.
The government of the Israel quickly repudiated the pact. The chancellor Israel Katz He described this event as an attempt to “control Gaza after the war“. “ Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas embraced Hamas’ murderers and rapists, revealing his true face“Katz wrote on the social network X, referring to the president of the Palestinian Authority and main representative of Fatah.
The historic Palestinian agreement
From Beijing, China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yiannounced that representatives of 14 Palestinian groups agreed to the formation of “an interim government of national reconciliation“This would take place once the war was over in Gaza Stripstarted in October 2023.
According to Chinese state media, Wang received in Beijing Musa Abu Marzooksenior official of Hamasand to the envoy of Fatah, Mahmoud al-Aloul. In addition to the two main factions, other emissaries from other factions would also have attended. 12 Palestinian groups.
At a press conference held on Tuesday in Beijing, the representative of the Hamas delegation, Mousa Abu Marzook, said that they had reached an agreement to complete a “reconciliation course“. In turn, he also took advantage of the Beijing platform to defend the terrorist attack from the group against Israel on October 7.
“Today we signed a national unity agreement, and we affirm that the path to complete this journey is national unity. We are committed to this national unity and we call for its achievement.“, Marzook sentenced.
For his part, Wang stressed that this agreement is the “highlight” Of the call “Beijing DeclarationThe Chinese official also detailed that representatives of the Russia, Egypt -the usual mediator between Hamas and Israel- and Algeria.
Fatah’s al-Aloul thanked China for its support for the Palestinian cause.You have the love and friendship of all the Palestinian people.“he said, although he has not yet commented on the agreement.
Hamas currently rules the Gaza Stripin the midst of the armed conflict with Israel, while Fatah is the the main grouping of the Palestinian Authoritywhich is chaired by Mahmoud Abbas and exercises partial control over the occupied West Bank. enmity between both movements It has been open and public since 2007 Hamas forcibly expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s response
After hearing the news, Israel was quick to lash out at the agreement signed in BeijingIt was Israel Katz, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was responsible for leaving a message through his social networks, in which he mainly targeted Mahmoud Abbas’ movement.
“Hamas and Fatah have signed an agreement in China for joint control of Gaza after the war. Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas embraces Hamas’ murderers and rapists, revealing their true colors“Katz said.
“This will not happen, because Hamas’ power will be crushed, and Abbas will watch Gaza from afar“, the minister emphasized in his message, who then assured that “the security of Israel will remain solely in the hands of Israel“.
On the other hand, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotruch also reacted to the news with another message written through his account on X: “And in their hands do they want us to entrust our security in Gaza, Judea and Samaria the day after?“, wrote.
The agreement between the main Palestinian groups comes more than nine months into the Gaza war, which began with a savage surprise assault by Hamas commandos on Israeli soil on October 7.
This attack left a balance of 1,197 people dead – – mostly civilians – according to AFP’s count based on Israeli sources. During the same attack, Hamas forces 251 people were kidnapped, of whom 116 remain in Gaza.
On the other hand, the Israeli response has so far caused the death of more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gazamostly civilians, in addition to triggering a critical humanitarian situation, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health of this territory, governed by Hamas.
Source: Ambito
