China hosts Hamas and Fatah for reconciliation talks

Hamas, the Fatah movement, and a diplomat based in Beijing said that China will host talks to discuss internal reconciliation efforts, in a remarkable Chinese effort in the midst of the war in the Gaza Strip.

The two rival Palestinian factions have not managed to resolve their political differences since Hamas fighters expelled Fatah from Gaza in a short war in 2007. Washington is wary of moves to reconcile the two movements because it supports the Palestinian Authority but bans Hamas as a terrorist group.

A Fatah official told Reuters that a delegation led by the movement’s senior official, Azzam al-Ahmad, left for China. A Hamas official said that the talks team led by Musa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas leader, would fly there later Friday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a regular press conference: “We support strengthening the authority of the Palestinian Authority, and we support all Palestinian factions in achieving reconciliation and strengthening solidarity through dialogue and consultation,” without confirming the hosting of the meeting.

This visit will be the first time that a Hamas delegation has been announced to go to China since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian met with the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Qatar last month, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Beijing-based diplomat who was briefed on the matter said that the talks aim to support reconciliation efforts between the two movements.