Jerusalem, July 22 (EFE).- Fourteen Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, signed an agreement at the reconciliation meeting in China that included forming a “temporary” national unity government for all Palestinian territories (Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem), Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday.
The 14 Palestinian factions included Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), among others, and aimed to unify efforts to end the war in Gaza.
According to a statement by Hamas, this national unity government would be formed under the consensus of the Palestinian factions and the president’s decision, and be governed by the Palestinian Basic Law.
The Palestinian factions welcomed the observation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which last week described the Israeli presence and settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal.
The signatories also pledged to implement these agreements aimed at ending the division between them, which were achieved thanks to the mediatory role of Egypt, Algeria, China and Russia.
Among the common objectives raised is the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with capital in Jerusalem – something all these groups individually already aim towards – in line with United Nations resolutions, especially 181 and 2334.
The former, issued in 1947, designated the partition of Palestine into an Arab state, another Jewish state and a part under international administration; while the latter, in 2016, deems the establishment of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories as “illegal.”
The factions underlined the right of the Palestinian people to “resist occupation” under international law, and the right to self-determination, as well as to resist Israeli attempts to displace the Palestinian population.
The last point in the statement referred to the common commitment of the groups to try to end the “siege” of Gaza and the West Bank, and to ensure the free entry of humanitarian and medical aid.
This agreement is a fresh attempt at reconciliation between the factions, especially between the Islamist Hamas and the secular Fatah, which have been at loggerheads since 2007. EFE
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