China to host Hamas and Fatah for talks on Palestinian unity

(Patria) - China will host talks on Palestinian unity between Hamas and Fatah, the two groups and a Beijing-based diplomat said on Friday, AP reported.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, is the group whose fighters stormed Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in its assault.

Fatah is the movement of Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The two rival Palestinian factions have failed to heal their political rifts since Hamas fighters drove Fatah out of Gaza in a brief war in 2007. Washington has been wary of moves to reconcile the two groups as it backs the PA but has banned Hamas as terrorists.

A Fatah official told Reuters that a delegation led by the group’s senior official Azzam Al-Ahmed had left for China. A Hamas official said a delegation for the talks, led by senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk, would fly there later on Friday.

“We support strengthening the authority of the Palestinian National Authority and support all Palestinian factions in achieving reconciliation and increasing solidarity through dialogue and consultation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing on Friday, without confirming the meeting.

The visit will be the first time it has been publicly known that a Hamas delegation has gone to China since the start of the Gaza war. Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian met Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar last month, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

A Beijing-based diplomat, who was briefed on the matter, said the aim of the talks was to support reconciliation efforts between the two rival Palestinian groups.

China has shown growing diplomatic influence in the Middle East recently, where it has strong ties with Arab countries and Iran. Last year, Beijing brokered a peace deal between long-time regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials in Beijing on Friday how China could play a constructive role in global crises, including the Middle East.

Chinese officials have stepped up support for the Palestinians in international forums in recent months, calling for a broader Israeli-Palestinian peace conference and a timetable for implementing a two-state solution.

Beijing in February asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give its opinion on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, which it said was illegal.

China has advocated for Palestine to join the United Nations, which senior diplomat Wang Yi said last week would “correct a long-standing historical injustice.”