China brokers deal between Palestinian factions

China has done it again. After brokering a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran – of course the process was more complicated because Oman and the United Arab Emirates played a decisive role – in 2023, Beijing has brought together Hamas and Fatah and 12 other Palestinian organisations to agree to form a national unity government. The agreement was finalised in Beijing on Tuesday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi oversaw the signing of the agreement by Hamas’ Mousa Abu Marzouk and Mahmoud al-Aloul, vice chairman of the Central Committee of Fatah. This is seen as a way to pre-empt Israel’s attempt to control Gaza in a post-war situation. Abu Marzouk said, “Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity.”

Hamas and Fatah have been at loggerheads for 18 years now, ever since Hamas gained control of Gaza, and Fatah remained in control of the West Bank. National elections were not held in Palestine for these 18 years. One of the components of the agreement is that there will be elections and it will be fought on a national unity platform.

Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), explained the four elements of the agreement. First, the establishment of an interim national unity government, second, formation of a unified Palestinian leadership before the elections, the free elections of a new Palestinian National Council, and a general declaration of unity in the face of Israeli attacks. These are indeed the crucial elements which are necessary to hold two territories of Palestine together and also the two parties governing in each of the territories.  Unity between the two wings is a necessary prelude to deal with an aggressive Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in negotiating the ceasefire, in settling the issue of hostages and the restoration of passages of transition between the two Palestinian territories and Israel. A large number of Palestinians work in Israel. It might seem bizarre but that is the kind of interdependence that binds the two irreconcilable rivals.

Will this Beijing agreement succeed is a question that cannot be avoided because there was a similar agreement between Hamas and Fatah, mediated by Saudi Arabian King Abudllah Bin Abdul Aziz at Makkah in 2007. Interestingly there were four elements in the Makkah agreement too. The four were: first, end to internecine strife which resulted in the shedding of the blood of Palestinians; second, the formation of a national unity government through a constitutional system; third, to activate and reform the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which is the umbrella organisation of all Palestinian factions and Fatah was the largest among them; fourth, effective partnership based on laws passed by the Palestinian National Council, and the affirmation of political pluralism. Unfortunately, in the years that followed the Makkah agreement, Fatah and Hamas each asserted their own power in the West Bank and in Gaza respectively.

It is quite evident that the divisions among the Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, are one of the major reasons that Israel has been sidestepping the issue of final negotiations as stipulated in the Oslo Accords. It is the final negotiations that are expected to bring a closure to the festering issue of the Palestine-Israel issue. But the internal feuds between the Fatah and Hamas were exploited by Israel.

It will need a united Palestine to negotiate hard with an intransigent Israel. Palestinian unity is a precondition of talks between Palestine and Israel. So, whatever their differences, and however sharp they may be, it is necessary for Fatah and Hamas to stand together, to push Israel into accepting the territorially defined state of Palestine.