China Will Host Senior Officials of Hamas and Fatah, Longtime Adversaries

China will host senior officials from Hamas and Fatah for a meeting next week in an effort to bridge gaps between the rival Palestinian factions that have long competed for power in Gaza and the West Bank, according to officials in both parties.

With Israel and Hamas seemingly making progress on a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip, discussions of plans for the enclave’s future have taken on greater urgency. Having Hamas and Fatah open to working together is seen by many experts as crucial to rebuilding Gaza after the war.

Previous attempts to mediate between the two groups — including a meeting in Beijing in April — have failed to produce tangible results. Plans for the meeting next week, however, signaled that China was not giving up on its longstanding attempts to present itself as a peace broker.

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, will lead the group’s delegation to Beijing, according to Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official. Fatah will dispatch three officials, including Mahmoud al-Aloul, the deputy chairman of the party, to the Chinese capital, according to Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Central Committee.

Fatah’s delegation will include Mahmoud al-Aloul, left, the deputy chairman of the party. Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, will lead Hamas’s delegation.Credit…Ahmad Gharabli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images; Hassan Ammar/Associated Press

He said that China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, would meet with the Palestinian factions on July 21 and again on July 23 — though the two groups will meet on their own in between. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.