Beijing Declaration Blocks US-Israeli Schemes, Plans: Hamas Official

By Al Mayadeen English

Hamas representative in Lebanon, Ahmad Abdel Hadi, tells Al Mayadeen the agreement respects armed Resistance in Gaza and the popular uprising in the West Bank.

The primary context for the Palestinian factions' agreement and the signing of the Beijing Declaration is the significant strategic achievement represented by Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which made global public opinion recognize the Palestinian people's rights, said Hamas representative in Lebanon, Ahmad Abdel Hadi.

Abdel Hadi told Al Mayadeen that the second context for the Beijing Declaration is the genocide and starvation war that the Israeli occupation has been waging in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

According to the Hamas official, this factor places a huge responsibility on those meeting in Beijing to unite against the Israeli aggression.

He added that the third context for the agreement is the American-Israeli attempt, in collaboration with regional countries, to establish alternative forces to the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip, through Arab or Islamic forces under international sponsorship to oversee relief and reconstruction operations.

The official made it clear that the Palestinian people and Resistance will consider any foreign force in the Gaza Strip as an "occupying force" and would treat it as such, "an occupation".

Abdel Hadi praised the Beijing Declaration, pointing out that it blocks American-Israeli schemes and plans that serve the occupation's interests and that seek to establish a new reality by offering alternatives to the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.

He revealed that the agreement outlines a transitional phase until the election of a Palestinian National Council and the formation of a Palestinian government. It also includes coordinating meetings of the unified leadership framework, which includes all the general secretaries of the Palestinian factions and acts as a guarantor for outlining and scheduling what was agreed upon in the Beijing Declaration.

The Hamas official highlighted China's role as a guarantor through close follow-up with the general secretaries of the Palestinian factions and "all necessary parties," as well as those involved in reconciliation efforts and previous dialogue sponsorships, such as Egypt and Algeria, as stipulated in the agreement.

He noted that the declaration included the minimum common points among all factions, "imposed by the prevailing situation, necessities, and national responsibility."

According to Abdel Hadi, the agreement respects "the armed Resistance of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front, and several factions in the Gaza Strip, as well as the popular uprising in the West Bank," in addition to "the popular and political resistance of Fatah and PLO factions."

The Hamas official underlined that the Palestinian Resistance factions believe in establishing a Palestinian state on the entire occupied Palestinian territory, with al-Quds as its capital, without recognizing the Israeli entity.

He said the factions would respond to upcoming developments according to changing realities.

He noted that the Resistance forces can deal with "the current reality based on the global recognition of Palestinian rights if the world can provide a [Palestinian] state within the 1967 borders with full sovereignty and without recognizing Israel and preserve the right of return as a step toward fully liberating our land."

Elsewhere, Abdel Hadi stated that any effort to bring the Palestinian factions closer and achieve reconciliation "will upset the occupation," which has long worked to "strengthen division through various means," confirming that the actual implementation of the agreement signed in Beijing "greatly disturbs" "Israel".

In this context, the Israeli "Institute for National Security Studies" (INSS) suggested earlier that, although the path to reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas is a possibly long one, it is nevertheless a blow to "Israel".

The INSS indicated that discussions in Beijing, together with China's support at the UN, maintain Hamas' legitimacy, making it harder for the Israeli occupation to establish a "the day after" solution in Gaza without the movement's involvement.