China mediates between Hamas and Fatah in ‘Beijing Declaration’ on Palestinian unity

The “Beijing Declaration” – hailed as a breakthrough and a sign of China’s emerging role as a peace broker in far-flung conflicts – was signed by representatives of 14 Palestinian factions, Chinese state media said.

Photos of the talks showed that among those present were Mahmoud al-Aloul, deputy chairman of Fatah’s central committee, and Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas member. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said ambassadors from Egypt, Russia and Algeria also attended the meetings.

Wang described the meeting as a “historic moment for the cause of liberating Palestine” and highlighted the “consensus on establishing a transitional government of national reconciliation to administer Gaza after the war” in a speech after the talks ended.

Wang reiterated China’s support for a “comprehensive, permanent and sustainable ceasefire” and the convening of a major “international peace conference” to work toward a two-state solution.

A key aspect of the broader debate over how to end nine months of grueling fighting in the Gaza Strip is how the territory should be governed afterwards, whether through continued Israeli occupation or some form of Palestinian control – though the Israeli government has rejected any proposal that includes Hamas or the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

The statement calls for the formation of a Palestinian unity government overseeing the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip and for elections to eventually be held, with faction leaders meeting to draw up a roadmap.

The joint statement may be a clear diplomatic win for Beijing, but analysts were immediately skeptical of the deal’s prospects, noting that it is only the latest in a long line of similar reconciliation deals reached — and then collapsed — between the two factions since a power struggle that ended in 2007 with Hamas seizing control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah officials.

A previous attempt by Beijing to mediate talks between Hamas and Fatah in April ended without a joint statement.

After decades of preferring to leave contentious Middle East diplomacy to the United States, China has in recent years worked to portray itself as a viable peacemaker in some of the world’s most volatile regions.

“China’s Middle East policy is clearly different from that of the West,” said Tang Qichao, an analyst at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “There is an urgent need to reverse the lack of mediation by the international community,” which has been partly caused by the Western world’s geopolitical marginalization of the Palestinian issue, he added.

Beijing brokered a breakthrough last year between Iran and Saudi Arabia, forcing Washington into a corner by applauding a major Middle East deal reached with its main geopolitical rival.

“The Middle East is not a region of any major power,” the state-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times said in an editorial on Monday, adding that Beijing, by adopting a “unique diplomatic mediation model,” had fostered a “wave of reconciliation” in the region.

China has also tried to present itself as a mediator in the war between Russia and Ukraine, promoting a 12-point proposal to end it.

In June, Chinese diplomats refused to participate in Swiss-hosted talks to end the war in Ukraine, claiming the meeting was politically motivated and pointless unless Russia was present. Instead, Beijing, along with Brazil, proposed a separate agenda for a negotiated settlement.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit Getting to Beijing Kerry begins talks with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, hoping to secure Chinese support to end Russian aggression.