Signed in China, secret meeting exposed! Click to see military plans for Gaza
As China continues to expand its sphere of influence in the Middle East, it has rallied the Palestinian organizations Hamas and Fatah in Beijing.
The agreement was reached in Beijing between Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, and Fatah, which controls the West Bank.
Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk announced that he had signed an agreement with Fatah for national unity.
Palestinian groups have been holding negotiations in the Chinese capital since the weekend.
The agreement between Hamas and Fatah is a landmark as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.
Deadly clashes erupted between Palestinian groups after Hamas won Gaza elections in 2006.
After Fatah was expelled from the Mediterranean basin, the two groups met repeatedly over the course of 17 years in failed attempts to form a “unity government.”
“China sincerely hopes that the Palestinian parties will work together to achieve national unification and an independent Palestinian state at an early date on the basis of internal reconciliation,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech after the agreement was reached.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Palestinian groups led by Fatah and Hamas underscored their intention to establish an interim consensus government in the declaration signed in Beijing. The Palestinian groups aim to end divisions and create unity in the declaration, called the Beijing Dialogue. In addition to the consensus government, the declaration includes elements such as holding early elections.
The petition attracted attention in Israel.
The signing in Beijing immediately reverberated in Tel Aviv. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the Palestinian groups had “signed an agreement on joint governance of Gaza” and claimed that the post-war Mediterranean coast would not be governed by Palestinian groups. Katz shared a message on his X account saying, “This will not actually happen because the Hamas regime will be defeated and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be watching over Gaza from afar.”
Secret meeting in Abu Dhabi
American publication Axios announced that the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates had met in secret to discuss post-war plans.
The report said the secret meeting in the Gulf capital Abu Dhabi was attended by two Israeli officials and hosted by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Israel’s Minister of Strategic Relations Ron Dermer and the leader of the U.S. Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk, was at the table.
Axios recalled in its report that just days before the secret talks, the United Arab Emirates had signaled its readiness to send peacekeeping forces to the Gaza Strip.
According to the publication, the UAE will be the first Arab country to accept the US’s post-war plan for Gaza.
