China Hosts 'Unity' Talks Between Palestinian Fatah and Hamas Terrorists
AP Photo/Khalil Hamra
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday that representatives from the two main Palestinian factions, the terrorist organization Hamas and Fatah, made progress at recent “unity talks” held in Beijing.
Lin said Hamas and Fatah sent representatives to Beijing at China’s invitation for “in-depth and candid dialogue on promoting Palestinian reconciliation.”
“The two sides fully expressed their political will of realizing reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, had discussions on many specific issues, and made encouraging progress,” he said.
No announcements have been made and the talks were held without much fanfare. Lin did not indicate exactly when this “dialogue” occurred and the question that allowed him to broach the subject was clearly planted with Chinese state media, so Lin’s press conference on Tuesday looked like the Chinese Communist regime trying to squeeze a little good press out of meetings that did not accomplish much.
Lin said the Palestinian factions “agreed to continue this dialogue process so as to achieve Palestinian solidarity and unity at an early date.”
Lin claimed the Palestinians “highly appreciated China’s firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, thanked the Chinese side for its efforts to help strengthen Palestinian internal unity, and reached agreement on ideas for future dialogue.”
Arab media reported last week that Hamas and Fatah sent representatives to Beijing at China’s invitation, but offered few other details. A similar summit was held in Moscow in February, supposedly to develop a “unified strategy” against Israel’s military operation in Gaza, but little seems to have come from it despite enthusiastic proclamations that Israel’s actions in Gaza had brought the Palestinians closer together than ever.
Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen News, which is widely believed to be affiliated with Hezbollah, quoted a “Palestinian source” who said Hamas and Fatah discussed “the importance of unifying the Palestinian position regarding the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, emphasizing the importance of a ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the Strip,” plus resistance to Israeli “settlers” in the West Bank – in other words, everything they already agreed on.
Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since Hamas used deadly violence to expel Fatah from Gaza in 2007. Hamas declared victory in the short but brutal conflict by having a masked terrorist sit at the captured desk of Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas and mockingly place an imaginary phone call to then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, informing her that Abbas would no longer be available to take her calls.
In addition to squabbling over power, Fatah and Hamas have significant ideological divisions, with Fatah generally marketing itself as the more reasonable faction. Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank, has seen its fortunes dim as the Gaza war builds sympathy among Palestinians for the violent savages of Hamas.
The far-left New York Times (NYT) was unsurprised that the Beijing dialogue between Fatah and Hamas did not amount to much because “power-sharing would require more compromise than currently seems possible.”
Hamas seems particularly determined to quash the Biden administration’s notions that Fatah could take over in Gaza after Israel wipes Hamas out, or that a “two-state solution” for the Palestinians might be possible if Hamas is frozen out of power.
China, meanwhile, appears determined to torch its good relations with Israel to build credibility among Muslim nations. China has refused to condemn the Hamas atrocities of October 7, strongly backs Hamas demands for a “cease-fire” that would preserve its viability as a military and terrorist force, and seems willing to indulge every allegation Hamas levels against Israel.
The Chinese may have calculated there is no way to maintain their image as an increasingly influential superpower and global deal-maker without arranging a rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah to sustain the illusion of a nascent Palestinian “state” with responsible leadership.
“Arab and Palestinian officials believe the PA, which administers limited parts of the West Bank, will have to play a role in governing Gaza once the war ends. But until Hamas and Fatah work out their long-running differences, it is unclear how the relatively secular PA could operate in territory it has lost – both electorally, and in terms of control on the ground – to the Islamist militant group,” the Financial Times (FT) observed on Tuesday.
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