As war rages in Gaza, rivals Hamas and Fatah sign declaration to form a future government

RAMALLAH, West Bank —  Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah agreed in Beijing to form a government together, the groups said Tuesday, in the latest attempt at resolving a long-standing rivalry that looms over any potential vision 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 U.S.-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 and the United States rejected the pact. The U.S. and other Western countries have refused to accept any Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless it expressly recognizes 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 cease-fire proposal that would wind down the fighting 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 motivated in part by Palestinians’ desire to offer a scenario for postwar rule.

But Israel vehemently opposes any role for Hamas, which it vowed to destroy after the militants’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel. It also has rejected U.S. calls for the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza after the fighting ends, though it has not presented a cohesive postwar vision of its own.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party has been deeply reluctant to share power with its longtime rival. Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006. The following year, amid escalating tensions, Hamas routed forces loyal to Abbas in Gaza. It has ruled the impoverished coastal enclave ever since.

During the current war, Hamas officials have said that the group does not want to return to ruling Gaza and that it advocates for forming a government of technocrats to be agreed upon by the various Palestinian factions. That government would then prepare for elections in Gaza and the West Bank, with the intention of forming a unified government.

Reacting to the announcement out of China, Israel’s foreign minister said no joint governance between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza will take place “because Hamas’ rule will be crushed.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “We made clear we want to see the Palestinian Authority” with a governing role in Gaza, “but no, we do not want to see a role for Hamas,” which he said has “blood on its hands.”

The agreement also underscored China’s attempts to have a growing role in Middle East diplomacy, after its success in mediating the restoration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“To be sure, China is still in the process of trying to earn credibility as a global mediator,” said James Char, a research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Officials from Fatah, Hamas and 12 other factions met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in talks that started Sunday, according to a post on the social media platform Weibo from Chinese TV network CGTN.

In the statement, all the factions including Hamas said they were committed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War.

Hamas, whose original charter directly called for Israel’s destruction, has said it would accept a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 war borders but refuses to officially recognize Israel.

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The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, has recognized Israel and works within the framework of peace deals signed in the early 1990s. Those deals were supposed to lead to an eventual state in the West Bank and Gaza, but talks have been defunct for years, leaving the authority in charge of only isolated West Bank enclaves. Many Palestinians view the authority as corrupt, out of touch and a subcontractor for Israel because of their joint security coordination.

The unity announcement is based on widening the membership of the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization, including Hamas, said Jamal Nazzal, a Fatah spokesperson.

“It’s a long way ahead, and most of it will be implemented after a possible cease-fire,” he added.

Hamas members have never been part of the PLO, the umbrella group of Palestinian factions that undergirds the Palestinian Authority. Husam Badran, a Hamas political official based in Qatar, called the agreement a further “positive step towards achieving Palestinian national unity.”

President Biden’s administration envisions a revamped Palestinian Authority ruling postwar Gaza and has sought reforms that might make it a viable presence in the war-ravaged territory. Israel rejected that idea.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group allied with Hamas, issued a statement after the talks saying that it still “rejects any formula that includes recognition of Israel explicitly or implicitly” and that it demanded the withdrawal of the PLO’s recognition of Israel.

Jeffery, Goldenberg and Wu write for the Associated Press. Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv; Wu reported from Bangkok. Abby Sewell contributed to this report from Beirut.