(Source: "China News Weekly》 2024-07-25）
On July 23, high-level representatives of 14 Palestinian factions signed the "Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity" (hereinafter referred to as the "Beijing Declaration") in Beijing. This three-day dialogue is the first time that 14 Palestinian factions have gathered in Beijing for reconciliation dialogue.
Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the closing ceremony of the intra-Palestinian reconciliation dialogue and witnessed 14 Palestinian factions jointly signing the "Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity." Wang Yi said in his speech that since entering the new era, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly put forward initiatives and propositions to solve w88 online sports betting issue, and has contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the resolution of w88 online sports betting issue. This time, 14 Palestinian factions gathered in Beijing upholding national justice. This is an important and historic moment in the cause of Palestine's liberation.
Wang Yi also pointed out that this time w88 online sports betting factions gathered in Beijing for dialogue, the most important consensus reached was to achieve great reconciliation and unity among the 14 factions. The core result was to clarify that the PLO is the only legitimate representative of all Palestinian people. The most prominent highlight was the agreement to form an interim national reconciliation government around the post-war governance of Gaza. The strongest call was to achieve the true independence of Palestine in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesperson Dujarric said at a regular press conference that day that the signing of the Beijing Declaration by Palestinian factions in Beijing is an important step in promoting Palestinian national unity. Guterres welcomed this, expressed his gratitude to China and other countries involved in promoting this process, encouraged all Palestinian factions to resolve differences through dialogue, and urged all factions to fulfill the commitments made in the dialogue and declaration.
A substantial breakthrough at a critical moment
Although w88 online sports betting National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and w88 online sports betting Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) are both political factions within Palestine, due to the huge differences in their attitudes towards Israel and the West and internal governance methods over the past 20 years, the two factions even drew swords at each other. Therefore, it is no longer an easy task to get the two factions and other political factions to sit down and negotiate.
Since its founding by Yassin in 1987, there have been major differences between Hamas and Fatah, the main political force in Palestine. For example, after Israel granted autonomy to some West Bank cities under Fatah's control in 1994, Hamas was dissatisfied with Fatah's compromise and launched suicide attacks in Israel to disrupt peace negotiations, causing Fatah to suppress Hamas. In 1998, Yassin proposed joining w88 online sports betting government and asked Arafat to reject the Oslo Peace Agreement and attack Israel. The differences between the two sides increased.
In 2004, Yassin was killed in a bombing and Arafat died of illness. w88 online sports betting people were frustrated with Fatah's failed peace strategy, which ultimately allowed Hamas to win the 2006 legislative election. The following year, Hamas took control of all of Gaza in one fell swoop and became a political force on par with Fatah. At the same time, the United States put pressure on Fatah to eliminate Hamas, which actually increased Hamas's popularity among Palestinians. Until Hamas launched the "Aqsa Flood" attack on Israel last October, no elections were held within Palestine, and no faction conducted any negotiations on the "two-state solution" between Palestine and Israel on behalf of Palestine and Israel.
Faced with the fact that Palestine has been divided for a long time, various countries have tried to mediate many times, but with little success. In 2006, under the mediation of Saudi Arabia, Palestinian factions adopted the Mecca Declaration and agreed to establish a government of national unity, but all parties avoided the key issue of recognizing Israel. In 2007, after Hamas seized control of Gaza, Palestine was essentially divided into two. In order to promote reconciliation between the two parties, Arab countries have mediated many times and reached the Doha Agreement and the Cairo Agreement, but the two sides have never achieved substantive reunification.
Compared with the previous agreement, this time the Beijing Declaration emphasizes the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. w88 online sports betting people have the natural right to resist Israeli occupation, which has never been covered in previous agreements. The "Beijing Declaration" also requires the new unified Palestinian interim government to start work as soon as possible to unite the loose political factions of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, rebuild Gaza, and prepare for the holding of national elections.
Abdallah Abdullah, Fatah’s official in charge of international relations, spoke highly of China’s important role in promoting reconciliation within Palestinian factions. He said that China deeply understands w88 online sports betting people's "determination to defend their rights."
Hussam Badran, a senior Hamas official, said that the "Beijing Declaration" is another "positive step" on the road to realizing Palestinian national unity. He also pointed out that the Beijing Declaration was reached at a critical moment when w88 online sports betting people were facing a devastating war, and Palestine had no excuse not to achieve unity in its ranks and unify its stance.
It was at this critical moment that China stepped forward and actively mediated. Some analysts pointed out that China's image as a responsible major power and its fair stance on w88 online sports betting issue have enabled China to win the trust of various Palestinian factions.
However, Israel’s attack on Gaza has not yet completely ended, and Israel’s stated goal of completely wiping out Hamas has not changed. Therefore, it will be difficult for Palestine’s internal unification work to be substantively carried out until international organizations such as the United Nations further mediate and obtain a more lasting ceasefire agreement.
Even though there are still many uncertainties, both Palestine and Arab countries have expressed their affirmation of the Beijing Declaration. Shtayyeh, who stepped down as Palestinian Prime Minister in March this year, recognized that the declaration was serious and could be advanced in substance. High-level government officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other countries also expressed full appreciation for Beijing's efforts.
The signing of the Beijing Declaration by 14 Palestinian factions is an important step towards ending division and strengthening unity in Palestine. This is also another important effort and contribution that China has made to promote peace in the Middle East after successfully mediating the peace talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The contradictory posture of the United States
Just before senior representatives of 14 Palestinian factions gathered in Beijing for a reconciliation dialogue, on July 19, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, issued a judicial advisory opinion in response to the United Nations General Assembly resolution, requiring Israel to immediately stop all settlement construction activities in Palestine (mainly the West Bank), evacuate all settlers, and compensate for the losses caused in the occupied Palestinian territories. The opinion pointed out that all countries and international organizations have the obligation not to recognize Israel's illegal presence in the region and not to aid or assist it in maintaining its illegal occupation. The ICJ also urged the UN General Assembly and Security Council to take further steps to end Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
In fact, as early as 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's construction of the separation wall in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank violated international law and should be demolished, but the separation wall still exists today. This opinion once again emphasizes that Israel's continued construction and expansion of settlements has violated multiple international conventions, including infringement of w88 online sports betting people's right to self-determination and continued abuse of its status as an occupying power. United Nations Secretary-General Guterres also stated that he would quickly forward his opinions to the United Nations General Assembly, emphasizing that the "two-state solution" is the only feasible path, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and the release of the hostages in Gaza.
w88 online sports betting Authority welcomed the ICJ’s ruling and called on Israel to end its occupation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the ruling, saying that the West Bank and East Jerusalem are the "historic homeland of the Jewish people" and that "the Jews are not occupiers of their own land." Netanyahu's speech represents Israel's consistent position. Just two days before the International Court of Justice issued a judicial advisory opinion, the Israeli government ignored international opposition and once again rejected the "two-state solution" and voted in its own Congress to oppose w88 online sports betting statehood proposal.
On the issue of Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories, the United States has a rather contradictory attitude. Although the Biden administration has been vocally claiming to support the "two-state solution" and believes that Israel's plan to expand settlements is "both inconsistent with international law and hinders the peace process," it is opposed to using the opinion of the International Court of Justice to take unilateral actions, fearing that the International Court of Justice will complicate the conflict. Therefore, the United States only has a correct attitude on the surface, but does not want any damage to Israel's interests. Such a gesture will undoubtedly not help solve w88 online sports betting issue.
On July 22, Netanyahu set off for a visit to the United States to hold talks with President Biden, who had just announced that he would not seek re-election, and planned to deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress on the 24th local time. Currently, Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure from the United States. Washington has demanded that Israel resume political negotiations with the Palestinians and threatened to stop arms supplies to Israel.
But no matter how unpopular he is in the United States, Netanyahu bites the bullet and goes to Washington. Because Israel is not only at war with Hamas and Hezbollah in northern Lebanon, it has also recently begun to take action against the Houthi armed forces in Yemen. Due to drone attacks by the Houthi armed forces, Israel has carried out large-scale air strikes on Yemen. It is expected that such air strikes will continue for a period of time until the Houthis no longer dare to launch drone attacks on Israel. In this case, U.S. military assistance is particularly important.
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