BEIJING: Palestinian factions agreed to end division and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration on Tuesday morning in China, Chinese state media reported.
The declaration was signed at the closing ceremony of the reconciliation talks between the groups held in Beijing from July 21 to 23, state-run CCTV reported.
Fourteen Palestinian groups, including leaders of rival factions Fatah and Hamas, also met with the media, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi joining them, CGTN reported in a social media post.
Rival factions Hamas and Fatah met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end a 17-year-old dispute.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed the agreement between 14 Palestinian groups to establish a “interim national reconciliation government” to govern the post-war Gaza Strip.
Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Fatah, met in Beijing this week to renew their calls for reconciliation.
As the meeting ended on Tuesday, China's top diplomat said the groups had pledged to “reconcile”.
“The most striking highlight is the agreement to establish an interim national reconciliation government to govern the Gaza Strip after the war,” Wang said after the signing of the “Beijing Declaration” by groups in the Chinese capital.
“Reconciliation is an internal matter for Palestinian factions, but at the same time, it cannot be achieved without the support of the international community,” Wang said.
China added that he was keen to “play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Hamas and Fatah have been rivals since Hamas militants ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip following violent clashes that followed Hamas' landslide victory in 2006 elections.
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since it took control in 2007.
The secular Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority, which holds some executive power in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
