On the same day that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his visit to China and left China "empty-handed," Palestinian delegations from Fatah and Hamas followed suit. Judging from the reaction of the Biden administration and the Western media, the United States did not receive any news in advance.
Judging from the briefing on Blinken's visit by the Chinese side, apart from mainly talking to him about its core interests and China-US relations, the Chinese side only focused on the Ukraine issue, and did not touch on another issue that has made the United States anxious: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This is intriguing. According to Reuters, a delegation led by Azam Ahmed, a senior Fatah official, and a team led by Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, arrived in Beijing, and there has been no news about the outcome of the talks. However, it is clear that China is beginning to exert its strength in the Middle East, and it cannot allow the process of resolving the Middle East problem to be led by the United States and Israel.
(Hamas takes control of the Gaza Strip)
So, why did China mediate the talks between Hamas and Fatah? This has to do with the current situation of the Palestinian Authority and China's idea of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
- The current state of the Palestinian Authority: It is well known that the Palestinian people's struggle against Israeli aggression has been led for decades by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is Fatah by its Arabic acronym. After Arafat's death at the end of 2004, the Palestinians were politically divided and chaotic, and not only did the contradictions between the different factions within Fatah begin to intensify, but also the armed groups such as the "Islamic Resistance Movement", which advocates a tough confrontation with Israel, and the Arabic acronym of the Islamic Resistance Movement is Hamas, has gradually gained more Palestinian support. After nearly two decades of evolution, the Palestinian land has been divided into two parts, one in the West Bank, ruled by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, and the other in the Gaza Strip, ruled by Hamas.
The two plots of land were completely separated by Jewish settlements in Israel. On the one hand, because Hamas has never given up its armed resistance to Israel, the United States, most Western countries and Israel have always regarded Hamas as a terrorist organization, and on the other hand, because the leaders of the Fatah organization advocated reconciliation with Israel, gave up armed struggle, and were vigorously supported by the United States as "moderates", Fatah is a puppet of the United States and Israel in the eyes of Hamas's supporters. Palestinians living on two parcels of land held a second Palestinian Legislative Council election in early 2006, in which Hamas defeated Fatah to form a Palestinian self-government, which Fatah and other groups did not recognize.
Coupled with the Israeli army's incursions, the polarization of the Palestinians by Israeli and Western forces, and the internal struggles of Palestinian political organizations such as Fatah and Hamas (and even civil wars), efforts to form a Palestinian national coalition government have been torn apart. In June 2014, the two factions of Fatah and Hamas reached an agreement to form a coalition government, but the Palestinian National Authority, formed by Fath leader Mahmoud Abbas, has only control over the West Bank and little control over the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
(Israel's encroachment on Palestinian land)
- China has a very clear idea of resolving the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, that is, to resolve the Palestinian issue through a two-state solution. The two-State solution is the establishment of a universally recognized Palestinian State, living side by side in peace with Israel. The United States also advocates a two-state solution to the Palestinian question, but the two-state solution is completely different from the two-state solution advocated by China.
China's two-state solution has two main points: first, the Government of the State of Palestine must be elected by all Palestinians, without excluding any political party, including Hamas, and second, the borders established by the relevant United Nations resolutions on Palestinian land must be adopted. The two-state solution advocated by the United States stands for: First, the government of the State of Palestine must eliminate all anti-Israel and Western political forces, including Hamas, and must be dominated by pro-Western political forces, which to put it bluntly wants a puppet government of the West; second, the Palestinian territory must be based on the existing de facto controlled borders.
Considering that the territory now under the control of the Palestinians is much smaller than the territory recognized by the United Nations in 1967, Israel has encroached on a large amount of Palestinian land over the past few decades, including through wars and the construction of Jewish settlements. It can be seen that the two-state solution advocated by China and the vast majority of developing countries is the fairest solution.
(Fatah takes control of the West Bank)
If the Chinese Government wants to advance its two-state solution, it must demand that the Palestinians unite and form a coalition government that can represent all the Palestinian people. This is the main reason why China mediates relations between Hamas and Fatah. In fact, Russia also mediated once in February this year, when representatives of the two organizations held talks in Moscow, but apparently no agreement was reached. Whether they can reach a consensus in Beijing this time will depend on China's influence.
(Russia organized a Fatah-Hamas negotiation in Moscow in February this year, but nothing came of it.)
In order to realize this two-state solution, China needs to resolutely fight against the United States and Israel in major international forums, including the UN Security Council, and fight for the fairness and rights that the Palestinian people deserve. Naturally, the United States does not want to see Hamas reconcile with Fatah, so it is normal for the Beijing talks organized by the two organizations to keep the United States secret.
From brokering reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia to promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation, one thing China has always insisted on in the Middle East is to eliminate conflict and promote peace and tranquility. This also puts China in stark contrast to the United States, which will only bring war and turmoil to the region, which in turn further deepens the acceptance and trust of Middle Eastern countries and regions. The self-inflicted sins of the United States, coupled with China's correct diplomatic, economic, and even military approach to the Middle East, have led to a new situation in which the United States' influence in the Middle East has shrunk sharply.