(NewsInsights.org) – In 2006, the two main Palestinian political parties, Fatah and Hamas, engaged in conflict. By the next year, Hamas had seized control of the Gaza Strip, taking over all Palestinian Authority (PA) institutions and replacing PA officials with its own members. That conflict has been ongoing, but China recently helped broker an agreement called the “Beijing Declaration,” which would see the two factions working together. The United States is against the idea of Hamas in a government role.
The Palestinian Arab unity deal negotiations took place in Beijing, where Foreign Minister Wang Yi helped broker the agreement. It was signed by 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas. One of the senior Hamas members, Musa Abu Marzouk, said the group is “committed to national unity.”
In a press briefing on Tuesday, July 23, reporters asked State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller about his take on the agreement. Miller responded that the Department of State had not yet had time to review the declaration but made it known that the US only sees Hamas as a terrorist organization. While he said Washington “wants [s] to see the Palestinian Authority governing a unified Gaza and the West Bank,” he also notes that the US does “not support a role for Hamas.”
Miller also reiterated the United States’ stance that “there can’t be a role for a terrorist organization” in any government, not even in Gaza, where the group has “the blood of innocent civilians … on their hands.” He also noted that he doesn’t believe that the agreement will hinder any negotiations related to a Hamas-Israeli ceasefire that the West is working on.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also responded to the announcement of the deal. He has made his stance on Fatah clear, saying his government also views the faction as a terrorist group and would not accept a ruling government with them at the helm.
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