Hamas, Fatah sign national unity agreement in China

Representatives of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad and 11 other groups met in Beijing and agreed to establish a Palestinian "National Unity Government".

"China has long tried to reconcile the warring factions. After Hamas staged a terror attack against Fatah in the Gaza Strip in 2007, the two organisations did not get along. But Russia and China made every effort to arrange peace talks," Caliber.Az reports, citing Israeli media.

Now Hamas, Fatah and the rest of the groups have pledged to form an "interim national unity government" that will govern both Gaza and the West Bank. How and when it will be formed has not yet been announced.

The participants in the meeting issued a collective statement pledging to establish an "independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" and to "guarantee the return of Palestinian refugees."