Palestinian factions reach practical, detailed agreement of unity

Fourteen Palestinian factions reached a practical and detailed agreement on ending division and strengthening unity after holding reconciliation talks in Beijing from July 21 to 23, said Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI). At the invitation of the Chinese side, the representatives of 14 Palestinian factions, including the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), attended the reconciliation talks, and signed the Beijing Declaration on ending schism and strengthening Palestinian solidarity at the closing ceremony in the Chinese capital on Tuesday morning. Based on one consensus parties agreed to work for reconciliation and unity among all the 14 Palestinian factions, and the most important core result was that the talks made it clear that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole legal representative of the Palestinian people. The 14 Palestinian factions agreed to form an interim national reconciliation government for post-war governance of Gaza, and the strongest appeal of the talks was the establishment of an independent state of Palestine according to relevant United Nations resolutions. "There is a great significance not only because we achieved a much better agreement than any agreement before, because it's very practical, very detailed, it speaks about the creation of a unified leadership practically, but also because it's signed in China. And China has a very important role to play," said Mustafa Barghouti and praised Chinese side for giving the platform. China has extended warm congratulations to the Palestinian factions, noting that the country stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with all relevant parties and make continuous efforts to implement the Beijing Declaration. This is the second round of reconciliation talks for Palestinian factions in Beijing. In the first round in April, Fatah and Hamas made encouraging progress in promoting Palestinian reconciliation.