Hamas announces ‘national unity’ deal with Palestinian rivals

Hamas announced Tuesday it had signed an agreement in Beijing with other Palestinian organisations including rivals Fatah to work together for “national unity”, with China describing it as a deal to rule Gaza together once the war ends.

After receiving top Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk, Fatah ambassador Mahmud al-Aloul, and emissaries from twelve other Palestinian organisations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the parties had decided to establish a “interim national reconciliation government” to oversee Gaza after the war.

“We declare that national unity is the way to finish this journey as we sign an accord for national unity today. After meeting Wang and the other envoys, Abu Marzuk declared, “We are committed to national unity and we call for it.”