Fatah and Hamas signed a joint statement in Beijing on Tuesday in a grand show of unity, with the leaders of the rival Palestinian factions standing beside China’s foreign minister for a photo opportunity in an ornate hall.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, declared that “historic moments” were underway. Mahmoud al-Aloul, the deputy leader of Fatah, showered praise on China for standing beside the Palestinian people.
Their joint statement supports the formation of a temporary government for Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank that all parties agree upon. But for many Palestinians, without concrete steps to make that plan a reality, the gathering in the Chinese capital was little more than a performance — and one they had seen before.
“What happened in China isn’t significant,” said Jehad Harb, an analyst of Palestinian affairs. “There aren’t any indications that Hamas and Fatah intend to end the split between them.”
Hamas and Fatah have been deeply divided for years, each trying to present itself as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people and wary that the other will undermine its power. In 2007, the parties engaged in a civil war in which Hamas forcibly took over Gaza from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which retains limited autonomy over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Multiple past attempts to broker unity between the rival parties have resulted in joint statements and agreements, but all of those efforts have failed.
“These statements aren’t worth the ink needed to write them,” said Abd Al-Rahman Basem al-Masri, 25, a resident of Deir al Balah in central Gaza. “We’ve seen these things before and we’ve lost hope in them.”
The joint statement on Tuesday, which was also signed by other smaller Palestinian factions, said the new government should begin working on uniting Palestinian institutions in the West Bank and Gaza, reconstructing Gaza and preparing for national elections, though it does not lay out a clear timeline.
Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior Fatah official and the former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, said he thought the statement was “serious,” but he emphasized that more discussions were required to advance reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.
“There’s no alternative to Palestinian unity,” he said in an interview. “What has happened in China is stating the obvious.”
“It’s a matter of principles,” he said, adding that “a lot of talks and details” were needed for implementation.
Palestinian experts have said cooperation between Hamas and Fatah was critical to discussions about a postwar future in Gaza. If they can form a government of independent figures without formal ties to Hamas, it could make it easier for much of the Western world to participate in rebuilding the territory. The United States, Britain and other nations consider Hamas a terrorist group.
The statement does not address a key sticking point: security control over Gaza. Fatah has demanded that all weapons be under the authority of one unified security force and government, while Hamas has said it will not dismantle its military wing, the Qassam Brigades.Mr. Shtayyeh, who stepped down as prime minister in March, acknowledged frustration among Palestinians, describing the division between Hamas and Fatah as a “black chapter in the history of Palestine.”
“Palestinians on the street are very angry and disappointed that these talks have been ongoing for 17 years now,” he said. “The general public wants results, they don’t want papers. They want practical steps in the right direction.”
For China, meanwhile, bringing Hamas and Fatah together represented an opportunity to promote its image as a peace broker and an important player in the Middle East. The declaration on Tuesday followed Beijing’s success in negotiating a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran last year. It also comes as China has deepened its financial ties in the region in areas like technology and artificial intelligence.
Official Chinese state media hailed the meeting, saying it was “bringing precious hope to the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinian factions attended the meeting mostly to placate China, Mr. Harb said, noting that they want to be in the good graces of a world power.
The images of China as a key international actor were not just for an overseas audience.
“The Chinese government does put significant weight on symbolic interactions, and certainly they are trying to lay out a tableau for everyone to look at domestically to say, ‘Yes, the Chinese government is important and is a force for good in the world,” said William J. Hurst, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Cambridge.
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