At a meeting held under the auspices of the Chinese authorities, Palestinian factions reached an agreement on the formation of a unity government that includes all parties, according to Palestinian media.
The summit held in Beijing was attended by 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah, which leads the Palestinian self-government, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters forcibly ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip following deadly clashes that followed Hamas’s landslide election victory in 2006.
A delegation of Hamas in the Chinese capital, led by senior official Musa Abu Marzouq, reportedly broke off yesterday’s bilateral talks with representatives of Fatah, which were scheduled as a preparation for today’s summit.
In a statement released at the end of today’s wider meeting, representatives of the various factions agreed to form an interim government of national unity and to unite institutions in the West Bank and Gaza, to begin the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and to prepare for holding general elections as soon as possible.
The date of the elections and the formation of the new government was not specified, but the announcement states that a schedule will be determined.
In their final statement, the factions “commit to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital” and to “guarantee the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with Resolution 194”, a 1948 UN resolution.
The factions further agree on the right of Palestinians to resist and end the occupation in accordance with international law, Klix.ba writes.
