China Reconciliation Talks Between Fatah, Hamas, and Palestinian Factions Sign Reconciliation Agreement
The national factions agreed during their meetings in China to achieve comprehensive Palestinian national unity, including all Palestinian forces and factions within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) framework. They committed to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, following United Nations resolutions, and ensuring the right of return following Resolution 194.
Firas | @FirasPalestine via ‘X,’ formally Twitter
July 23, 2024
The factions have agreed on an ‘interim national reconciliation government’, says the Chinese Foreign Ministry
READ: Al Jazeera: Hamas and Fatah sign unity deal in Beijing aimed at Gaza governance
Mahmoud al-Aloul, vice chairman of the Central Committee of Fatah (L), China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C), and Mousa Abu Marzouk, senior Hamas member, attend an event at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 23 [Pedro Pardo/AFP]
Firas | @FirasPalestine on ‘X,’ formally Twitter China reconciliation talks between Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian factions sign reconciliation agreement.
The national factions agreed during their meetings in China to achieve comprehensive Palestinian national unity, including all Palestinian forces and factions within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). They committed to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, and ensuring the right of return in accordance with Resolution 194.
The participants also agreed on the Palestinian people's right to resist occupation and end it according to international laws and the United Nations Charter. They decided to form a temporary national unity government with the consensus of the Palestinian factions by decree of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas based on the Palestinian Basic Law. This government will begin by unifying all Palestinian institutions in the territories of the Palestinian state, initiating the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and preparing for general elections under the supervision of the Central Elections Commission as soon as possible, according to the approved election law.
The Palestinian factions meeting in Beijing are:
Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah)
Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement
Palestinian People's Party
Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
Palestinian National Initiative Movement
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command
Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA)
Palestinian Liberation Front
Arab Liberation Front
Arab Palestinian Front
Vanguards of the Popular Liberation War (As-Sa'iqa Forces)
The attendees agreed on the following points:
1. Unifying national efforts to confront Zionist aggression and stop the genocide perpetrated by the occupying state and settler gangs supported by the United States of America. They also agreed to resist attempts to displace our people from their homeland, Palestine, and to force the Zionist entity to end its occupation of the Gaza Strip and all other occupied territories, while maintaining the unity of Palestinian lands, including the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
2. The Palestinian factions welcomed the opinion of the International Court of Justice, which affirmed the illegitimacy of the Israeli presence, occupation, and settlements on the land of the State of Palestine and emphasized the need for their removal as soon as possible.
3. Based on the National Reconciliation Agreement signed in Cairo on 4/5/2011 and the Algiers Declaration signed on 12/10/2022, the factions agreed to continue following up on the implementation of agreements to end the division with the assistance of Egypt, Algeria, and friends in the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation as follows:
a) Commitment to establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, following relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly Resolutions 181 and 2334, and ensuring the right of return following Resolution 194.
b) The right of the Palestinian people to resist occupation and end it following international laws and the United Nations Charter, and the right of people to self-determination and their struggle to achieve it by all available means.
c) Formation of a temporary national unity government with the consensus of the Palestinian factions and by a decision from the President based on the applicable Palestinian Basic Law. This government will exercise its powers and authority over all Palestinian territories, emphasizing the unity of the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. It will begin by unifying all Palestinian institutions in the territories of the Palestinian state, initiating the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and preparing for general elections under the supervision of the Central Elections Commission as soon as possible, according to the approved election law.
d) Until practical steps are taken to form the new National Council according to the approved election law, and to deepen political partnership in bearing national responsibility and developing the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it was confirmed to activate and regularize the unified temporary leadership framework for partnership in political decision-making as agreed upon in the Palestinian National Reconciliation Document signed on May 4, 2011.
4. Resisting and thwarting attempts to displace our people from their homeland, especially from the Gaza Strip or in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and affirming the illegitimacy of settlements and settlement expansion following the decisions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly and the opinion of the International Court of Justice.
READ: UN Top Court Says Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories is Illegal
5. Working to break the brutal siege on our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and to deliver humanitarian and medical aid without restrictions or conditions.
6. Supporting and endorsing the heroic steadfastness of our struggling people and their valiant resistance in Palestine to overcome the wounds and destruction caused by the criminal aggression, and to rebuild what the occupation destroyed, supporting the families of martyrs and the wounded, and all those who lost their homes, properties, and sources of livelihood.
7. Confronting the occupation's conspiracies and its continuous violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and resisting any harm to it and the city of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.
8. Paying tribute to the martyrs of the Palestinian people and reaffirming full support for the brave prisoners in the occupation's prisons and camps, who are subjected to various forms of torture and repression, and prioritizing all efforts possible to liberate them from the occupation's captivity.
In light of this declaration, the attendees agreed on a collective mechanism to implement all aspects of the declaration and decided to consider the meeting of the general secretaries as a starting point for the urgent work of the joint national teams. It was also decided to set a timeline for implementing this declaration.
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UN Top Court Says Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories is Illegal
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel should stop settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and end its "illegal" occupation of those areas and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
By Raffi Berg, BBC News, London
The result could have consequences for Israel over its occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza
It also says Israel should end all settlement activity there, in the landmark case.
By Raffi Berg, BBC News, LondonThe UN's top court has said Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is against international law, in a landmark opinion.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel should stop settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and end its "illegal" occupation of those areas and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
The court's advisory opinion is not legally binding but still carries significant political weight. It marks the first time the ICJ has delivered a position on the legality of the 57-year occupation.
The ICJ, based at The Hague in the Netherlands, has been examining the issue since the beginning of last year, at the request of the UN General Assembly.
The court was specifically asked to give its view on Israel's policies and practices towards the Palestinians, and on the legal status of the occupation.
Delivering the court's findings, ICJ President Nawaf Salam said it had found that "Israel's... continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal."
"The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible," he said.
The court also said Israel should evacuate all of its settlers and pay reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967. The court said the settlements were illegal. Israel has consistently disputed that they are against international law.
Israel also claims sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem, which it considers its indivisible capital - something which is not accepted by the vast majority of the international community.