Media Wire

US says there can be ‘no role’ for Hamas in post-war Gaza

Spokesman for the US State Department Matthew Miller has responded to a Beijing-brokered “national unity” agreement signed between Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian groups, ruling out any role for the Palestinian group Hamas in running the enclave after the war ends.

The agreement lays the groundwork for an “interim national reconciliation government” to rule post-war Gaza and has been seen as a bulwark against any governance plans that sideline Palestinians.

Miller told reporters the United States opposes any post-war plan that includes Hamas.

“As we have made clear for months, Hamas is a terrorist organisation. … When it comes to governance of Gaza at the end of the conflict, there can’t be a role for a terrorist organisation.”

He added the US would “like to see the Palestinian Authority governing a unified Gaza and the West Bank, but no, we cannot support a role for Hamas”.

14 Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Fatah, have agreed in the Chinese capital of Beijing to achieve “a comprehensive national unity” under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The announcement was made in a joint statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Beijing following China’s invitation to intra-Palestinian talks.

The statement said the Palestinian groups “agreed on achieving a comprehensive national unity that includes all Palestinian factions within the frame of PLO, and on the commitment to the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the UN resolutions and ensuring the right of return as based in resolution 194”.

The Palestinian groups also agreed on “uniting national efforts” to stop the Israeli genocide in Gaza and to resist attempts to expel Palestinians from their lands.

The Fatah Movement, Hamas Movement, Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and other Palestinian groups took part in the talks.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the deal as an agreement to rule the Gaza Strip together once the ongoing war ends.

“The most prominent highlight is the agreement to form an interim national reconciliation government around the governance of post-war Gaza,” he stated.

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

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