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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An Active U.S. Serviceman Dies After Setting Self on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy to Protest War in Gaza
An active-duty U.S. Air Force member, later identified as Aaron Bushnell, who live-streamed himself protesting the Israel-Hamas war by setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC on Sunday, February 25, 2024, is dead, a U.S. official confirmed.
While streaming himself live on Twitch, he stated that he ‘will no longer be complicit in genocide’ before dousing himself in accelerant and setting himself ablaze around 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Which he described as a 'genocide'
Updated: February 26,2024
In apparent protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
An active-duty U.S. Air Force member, later identified as Aaron Bushnell, who live-streamed himself protesting the Israel-Hamas war by setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC on Sunday, February 25, 2024, is dead, a U.S. official confirmed.
While streaming himself live on Twitch, he stated that he ‘will no longer be complicit in genocide’ before dousing himself in accelerant and setting himself ablaze around 1 PM on Sunday. As he became engulfed in flames, Bushnell repeatedly yelled 'Free Palestine' before falling to the ground.
Emergency response vehicles near the Embassy of Israel in Washington on Feb. 25, 2024. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) identified the deceased demonstrator in a statement to TIME on Monday as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, whose identity and death were first reported on social media by independent journalist Talia Jane.
Bushnell, who was wearing fatigues on Sunday in Washington, was a DevOps engineer based in San Antonio, Texas, according to his LinkedIn profile.
DC Fire and EMS initially said in a post on X on Sunday that it transported an adult male in critical condition to an area hospital after being dispatched at 12:58 p.m. to an incident outside the Israeli embassy, where it found the fire had already been extinguished by U.S. Secret Service members on the scene. Secret Service spokesperson Joe Routh told TIME in a statement that officers of its uniformed division responded to what appeared as “an individual that was experiencing a possible medical/mental health emergency.”
Embassy spokesperson Tal Naim told media outlets that no embassy personnel were injured. MPD told TIME that it is working with the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to investigate the incident. MPD said in an earlier post on X that it also investigated a suspicious vehicle near the scene but that no hazardous materials were found.
Spokespersons for the U.S. Air Force confirmed to CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post that the man who set himself on fire, prior to his public identification, was an active-duty airman. Defense Department policy states that service members on active duty should “not engage in partisan political activity.” Military regulations also prohibit wearing the uniform during “unofficial public speeches, interviews, picket lines, marches, rallies or any public demonstration which may imply sanction or endorsement by [the Defense Department] or the Military Service.”
Bushnell reportedly sent a message to media outlets before his self-immolation. “Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people,” he warned.
On Facebook Sunday morning, he also wrote: “Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.” The post included a link to a live stream of his protest on the web-broadcasting platform Twitch, which took down the video for violations of its community guidelines and terms of service.
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest,” the airman repeated, in footage reviewed by TIME, as he walked toward the driveway of the Israeli embassy. “But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
After Bushnell doused himself with liquid and reached for his lighter, unidentified law enforcement or security officers could be heard asking him, “Can I help you?” After setting himself aflame, Bushnell repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine.”
Protests have grown worldwide against Israel’s military actions in Gaza as well as against U.S. support for Israel since war broke out after the Oct. 7 assault from Palestinian militant group Hamas that Israeli officials claim killed about 1,200 people. Gaza’s health ministry, overseen by Hamas, has said that Israel’s bombardment of the enclave has in turn killed some 30,000 people.
Israel’s diplomatic outposts have become sustained sites of demonstration against the war in the Middle East, and it is not the first time someone has set their body ablaze outside one.
Self-immolation has a long history as a form of protest, gaining particular prominence during the Vietnam War and in Tunisia during the Arab Spring.
In December, an unidentified person with a Palestinian flag was left in critical condition after they lit themself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.
Credit Source: Reported by CHAD DE GUZMAN. Chad de Guzman is a reporter for TIME, based in Singapore. He covers the Asia-Pacific region and global overnight news.
“RAW VIDEO! Viewer discretion is advised.”
An active-duty U.S. Air Force member, later identified as Aaron Bushnell, live-streamed himself protesting the Israel-Hamas war by setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC on Sunday, February 25, 2024.
Credit Source:
“U.S. Veterans burn their uniforms at Aaron Bushnell’s vigil.”
