The agreement signed between the main Palestinian organizations – Hamas and Fatah – and 12 other political groups in the Arab nation is a response to the war in the Gaza Strip, considered a genocide by some organizations and countries. This is the assessment of the Palestinian ambassador to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben.
“This national unity is a response to the genocide and to Israel’s decisions not to recognize the other and to persist in its occupation of Palestinian territory. National unity is essential to achieving the creation of a sovereign and independent State of Palestine,” said Alzeben, representative of the Palestinian Authority in Brazil.
For him, the division between the groups is damaging to the Palestinian cause. Only Islamic Jihad was against the agreement, according to the diplomat. “There is no problem, it is healthy to have some opposition,” he said.
Opponents before October 7, Fatah and Hamas – along with 12 other groups – signed an agreement this Tuesday (23), in Beijing, Chinato end internal divisions and create national unity to fight for the liberation of Palestine against Israeli occupation.
The signed declaration also provides for an interim government with the participation of all groups to carry out the reconstruction of Gaza and a general election. The negotiation was mediated by the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, who participated in the signing ceremony of the agreement.
“[Os grupos] agree to realize national unity among all factions under the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” Chinese spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Multipolar world
The president of the Palestinian Arab Federation in Brazil, Ualid Rabah, highlighted that the Palestinian groups managed to understand that unity is necessary for the liberation of the country.
“The Palestinians are finally turning their backs on the masters of their genocide and joining hands with those who will build the world that will liberate Palestine. The multilateral world, the world of the BRICS, which is reshaping the world and reshaping the Palestinian issue. The agreement is being reached in the main challenger power of the West, which is China, at the same time that the talks were also taking place in Moscow,” he noted.
BRICS is the bloc of countries formed by Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and India, among others.
Historically divided since the 2005 Palestinian civil war, which separated the Palestinian territory, with the Gaza Strip under the control of Hamas and the West Bank under the control of Fatah, internal disputes between Palestinian political groups made minimal unity impossible.
For Ualid, the war in Gaza has managed to put an end to internal divisions. “The agreement between the Palestinians is a reason of greater strength in the face of genocide, in the face of extermination, in the face of colonialism, in the face of apartheid. Our reality is one of existential struggle,” he added.
Israel
The Israeli government condemned the deal, criticizing Fatah’s union with Hamas, according to a statement by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
“Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas [líder do Fatah] embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing its true face. In reality, this will not happen because the Hamas government will be crushed and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar. Israel’s security will remain exclusively in Israel’s hands,” the Israeli foreign minister said.
International right
According to Beijing, the joint declaration of the 14 Palestinian groups commits to a two-state solution, with an independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. To this end, they will rely on United Nations (UN) resolutions to guarantee the integrity of Palestinian territory, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
The agreement also provides for an international conference mediated by the UN with the participation of all influential actors in the conflict. The Palestinian ambassador to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben, said that the groups agreed to respect international law.
“This meeting in Beijing made it very clear that international law is absolutely respected. The fight against occupation is also part of this international law.”, said the diplomat, citing the recent decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), linked to the UN, which considered Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal.
The United States condemned the court’s decisionsaying this hampers efforts to resolve the conflict. An estimated 700,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, occupying 300 settlements that the UN considers illegal.
