Rivals Hamas, Fatah sign declaration to form future gov’t

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP):

Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah agreed in Beijing to form a government together, the groups said on Tuesday, in the latest attempt at resolving a long-standing rivalry and offering a potential scenario for the rule of Gaza after the war with Israel.

Previous similar declarations have failed, raising doubts about whether the China-sponsored negotiations might lead to reconciliation between Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for 17 years, and Fatah, the main force in the US-backed Palestinian Authority that administers parts of the occupied West Bank.

The two groups issued a joint statement announcing the deal but gave no details on how or when the government would be formed, saying only that it would be done “by agreement among the factions”. Both sides said the accord, which provided no guarantees, was only an initial step, and they promised to follow up on previous reconciliation agreements signed in 2011 and 2022.

Israel swiftly denounced the pact. The US and other Western countries have refused to accept any Palestinian government that includes Hamas, unless it expressly recognises Israel – a factor that has helped wreck past unity attempts, along with the factions’ own competition for power.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV announced that the two sides and other, smaller Palestinian factions signed the declaration on “ending division and strengthening Palestinian unity”. The agreement offered only broad outlines for how they would work together.

“There is an opportunity … but it is not big, because it lacks a specific timetable for implementation,” said Hani Al-Masry, an expert on Palestinian reconciliation affairs.

The declaration comes at a sensitive time, as the war in Gaza rages into its 10th month and as Israel and Hamas are weighing an internationally backed ceasefire proposal that would wind down the war and free dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

One of the thorniest issues is the question of who will run Gaza after the war. The unity efforts are in part motivated by Palestinians’ desire to offer a potential vision for post-war rule.

But Israel vehemently opposes any role for Hamas, which it vowed to destroy after the militants’ October 7 attack on southern Israel. It also has rejected US calls for the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza after the fighting ends, though it has not presented a cohesive post-war vision of its own.