TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Senior officials from rival Palestinian groups Hamas, which is at war with Israel, and Fatah have agreed to meet in the Chinese capital Beijing this month in a new attempt at reconciliation, officials revealed on Monday, July 15, 2024.

The Hamas delegation will be led by Qatar-based Hamas political chairman Ismail Haniyeh, while Fatah representatives will be led by deputy chairman Mahmoud Alul, Fatah sources said.

The representatives will meet with Chinese officials in Beijing on July 20-21, according to Fatah central committee deputy secretary general Sabri Saidam.

Before that, a meeting of the two groups could take place, he added.

The goal, Saidam said, "is to end the division with a commitment to past agreements and agree on relations between Palestinian groups at the next stage."

Another Fatah executive member also said a joint Fatah-Hamas meeting could be held in Beijing before the official agenda begins.

Hamas has yet to comment.

The two groups have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip after deadly clashes following Hamas' landslide election victory in 2006.

After taking control of Gaza in 2007, the Hamas movement continued to control the territory.

The secular Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority which has partial administrative control of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Several attempts at reconciliation have failed, but calls have increased since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war, with violence also escalating in the West Bank where Fatah is based.

China hosted Fatah and Hamas in April, but a meeting scheduled for June was postponed.

China has positioned itself as a more neutral actor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than its rival the United States. Beijing also advocates a two-state solution while also maintaining good relations with Israel.

AL ARABIYA

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