Reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah in China postponed again indefinitely

Officials from Palestinian factions told Reuters that reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah, which were scheduled to be held in China this month, have been postponed and no new date has been set for them.

After hosting a meeting of Palestinian factions last April, China said that Fatah and Hamas expressed their desire to seek reconciliation through unity talks in Beijing, and officials from Fatah and Hamas had previously said that the meeting would be held in mid-June.

With the factions deeply divided, analysts had little hope that the talks would achieve a breakthrough toward a reconciliation agreement, which could lead to the creation of a unified Palestinian administration for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007.

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official who attended the previous meeting, told Reuters that the meeting was postponed and no new date was set for another meeting, blaming Fatah, which he says requested the postponement.

Three Fatah officials confirmed the postponement, speaking on, saying that the movement would issue a statement on the issue.

At the end of last April, Beijing hosted reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah, two months after a tour that took place in the Russian capital, Moscow.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement confirming that representatives of the Hamas and Fatah movements had made “encouraging progress” in the recent talks hosted by Beijing on promoting reconciliation.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry indicated that the two sides expressed great appreciation for China's strong support for the just cause of the Palestinian people in order to restore their legitimate national rights, and thanked the Chinese side for its efforts to help strengthen Palestinian internal unity, and reached an agreement on ideas for future dialogue.