#Palestine
Palestine and China’s Strategic Imperative in the Middle East: A Win-Win Scenario or No Win at All?
On July 23, the news broke that Hamas, Fatah and twelve other Palestinian factions signed a joint agreement in Beijing (i.e., the Beijing Declaration) to form a unity government that would oversee the Palestinian…
Could China Be the Key to Palestinian Unity?
In April 2024, Beijing hosted reconciliation talks between two rival Palestinian factions, the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). Although the meeting brought no concrete results, the two sides seemingly showed willingness to continue working towards internal Palestinian unity and solidarity. This comes as China tries to establish a firm footing in the Middle East by aiding with the mediation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, who have been at war since the October 7 massacre.
Israel-Hamas War: Testing Beijing’s Regional Diplomacy
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, resulting in more than a thousand deaths. As the world braces itself for a potential regional escalation in the face of Israel’s planned ground operation in Gaza, China’s attitude seems to be moving towards “pro-Palestinian neutrality.”
China Aims at Breaking Another Middle East Diplomatic Impasse
As China aims at building upon its previous diplomatic success in the Middle East, achieving normalization between Israel and Palestinians would be a much more difficult task to accomplish.