West Bank - July 23, 2024

The Palestinian people have expressed hope that the Beijing Declaration, a reconciliation and unity agreement between Palestinian factions, will translate into action and end the split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In a rare show of solidarity, representatives of 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, on Tuesday jointly pledged to end their divisions and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration.

The announcement was made at the conclusion of a three-day reconciliation dialogue in Beijing from July 21 to 23 following China's invitation to intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks.

The most important consensus reached at the talks was to work for reconciliation and unity among all the 14 Palestinian factions, and the most important core result was that the talks made it clear that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole legal representative of the Palestinian people.

The most prominent highlight of the talks was that the 14 Palestinian factions agreed to form an interim national reconciliation government for post-war governance of Gaza, and the strongest appeal of the talks was the establishment of an independent state of Palestine according to relevant United Nations resolutions.

Rabah hailed China's pivotal role in fostering reconciliation among Palestinian factions.

Rabah hopes the decision will translate to real changes on the ground.

The Palestinian people are now watching with caution, passion and interest in order to see the practical steps to implement what was agreed upon.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007 and Fatah controls parts of the occupied West Bank through the Palestinian Authority. The two heavyweights of Palestinian politics have long been at odds over the governance of the Palestinian territories. Hamas believes in armed resistance against Israel, while Fatah believes in peaceful negotiation.

Shotlist:
Ramallah, West Bank - July 23, 2024:
1. Various of Ramzi Rabah, member of Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization, working at office;
2. National flag of Palestine;
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ramzi Rabah, member, Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization:
"We in the Democratic Front presented a vision for the national dialogue in Beijing, and we called upon everyone to respond positively to the efforts aimed at unifying the Palestinian positions and ranks at this stage.";
4. National flag of Palestine;
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ramzi Rabah, member, Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization:
"The results of this meeting - in terms of the understandings, agreements and decisions reached - are important in nature. The role of the People's Republic of China and its leadership was important in supporting and nurturing this dialogue which led to important outcomes.";
Beijing, China - July 23, 2024
6. Various of representatives of main Palestinian factions signing Beijing Declaration on ending division and strengthening unity;
7. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, representatives of main Palestinian factions posing for group photos;
Ramallah, West Bank - July 23, 2024
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ramzi Rabah, member, Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization:
"The lesson now is to move these positions towards implementation, and this requires political will from all forces, especially the brothers in the Hamas and Fatah movements.";
9. Various of traffic;
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Imad Abu Awad, citizen:
"Palestinian reconciliation is a big deal, and Palestinians have been hearing about it for twenty years. Unfortunately, even Palestinian interactions had become zero on these issues. The general perception is that reconciliation is far away and that its implementation on the ground will not happen. Meetings are happening between the Palestinian forces and the countries that summon these factions in order to reach a Palestinian reconciliation that does not seem to be close.";
11. Various of traffic, pedestrians, roadside shops;
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tayseer Ali Al-Zubri, citizen:
"I believe that there is no disagreement on various issues among those gathered in Beijing. But we hope that there will be mechanisms for implementation. In any case, as we have seen, there is a unified leadership framework that includes all the secretaries-general. What is important now is how we translate the good intentions and good decisions that are on paper into actual practice on the ground.";
13. Various of traffic, pedestrians, roadside shops.

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]