Israel’s Netanyahu says hostage deal could be near for hostages in Gaza

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BEIJING: Various Palestinian factions agreed to overcome their divisions and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration in China on Tuesday morning, according to Chinese state media.

The declaration was signed at the closing ceremony of a reconciliation dialogue between the factions that took place in Beijing from July 21 to 23, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

A total of 14 Palestinian factions, including leaders of rival groups Fatah and Hamas, met with the media in the presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, CGTN reported in a social media post.

The rival factions Hamas and Fatah met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end the dispute that has lasted for around 17 years.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed the agreement of 14 Palestinian factions to form a “transitional government of national reconciliation” to govern Gaza after the war.

Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Fatah, met in Beijing this week to make another attempt at reconciliation.

As the meeting ended on Tuesday, China's top diplomat said the groups were committed to “reconciliation.”

“The most important highlight is the agreement to form a transitional government for national reconciliation around the administration of the post-war Gaza Strip,” Wang said after the factions signed the “Beijing Declaration” in the Chinese capital.

“Reconciliation is an internal matter of the Palestinian factions, but at the same time it cannot be achieved without the support of the international community,” Wang said.

China, he added, is committed to “playing a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East.”

Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters drove Fatah out of the Gaza Strip following Hamas's landslide election victory in 2006, leading to deadly clashes.

The Islamist Hamas movement has ruled the Gaza Strip since it took control of it in 2007.

The secularist Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

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