Amidst the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip, two warring factions – the Palestinian Hamas Movement and Fatah – signed a China-mediated Unity Deal on July 23, 2024. Hamas and Fatah (formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, a Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party) signed the deal in the presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after holding a three-day meeting in Beijing. Later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement, mentioning that the deal was aimed at Gaza governance. According to the statement, Hamas, Fatah and 12 other Palestinian groups signed the agreement, titled Interim Government of National Reconciliation.

In presence of the Chinese Foreign Minister, senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told the press: “We signed a national unity agreement and we say that the path to complete this journey is national unity.” For his part, Mustafa Barghouti, the Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, stressed that the deal went “far beyond” any other reached in recent years. He claimed that the four main elements of the deal were the establishment of an Interim National Unity Government, the formation of a unified Palestinian leadership ahead of future elections, the free election of a new Palestinian National Council and a General Declaration of unity in the face of Israeli atrocities in Gaza. According to Barghouti, the formation of a Unity Government is crucial as it could “block Israeli efforts to create some kind of collaborative structure against Palestinian interests”. In other words, all the Palestinian groups are trying their best to block Israeli control over Gaza.

Experts believe that the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah could be a major turning point in internal Palestinian relations! These two main Palestinian political outfits have been bitter rivals since a conflict arose between them in 2006. In China, Marzouk admitted that the Unity Deal could change the scenario, stating: “We are at a historic moment. Our people are rising up in their struggle.” He also said that the ongoing war in Gaza motivated the two Palestinian outfits to put aside their differences. “There is no other way now than for the Palestinians to unite and fight together against this terrible injustice. The most important thing now is not just to sign the agreement, but to implement it,” stressed Marzouk.

It may be noted that Hamas emerged in the 1980s while opposing late Palestinian leader Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini‘s (popularly known as Yasser Arafat; August 1929 – November 11, 2004) Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and its political wing, Fatah. Later, the Palestinian Movement took possession of Gaza from Fatah. Currently, Fatah is governing the West Bank (of the Jordan River), another settlement of Palestinians in West Asia.

Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin, a Palestinian politician and Imam who had founded Hamas way back in 1987 shortly after the first Intifada, was once associated with Iman-ul-Muslimin Palestine, a Muslim Brotherhood-backed organisation in Egypt. Later, Sheikh Ahmed Yasin and his aide Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi created a military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in an attempt to pursue an armed struggle against Israel with the aim of liberating historic Palestine. Hamas’ relation with Arafat and his PLO was not very cordial. West Asia witnessed bloody clashes between Hamas and Fatah several times!

Meanwhile, political analysts are of the opinion that the latest unification process between the two Palestinian outfits would create serious trouble for Israel, apart from increasing China’s influence in West Asia. The two Palestinian outfits have confirmed that they would work together for the sake of the Palestinian people after the assassination of two senior Hamas leaders – Ismail Haniyeh and Muhammad Deif – by Mossad in the last week of July 2024.

Saudi Arabia To Receive Offensive Weapons From US!
The US has decided to start selling offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, yet again. In the past, Washington DC used to export offensive weapons to Riyadh, along with military equipment for self-defence. However, the Joe Biden Administration imposed a ban on the sale of precision-guided munitions and other weapons to Riyadh in order to end the war in Yemen in 2021. Now, the US has decided to lift the ban.

The US State Department recently issued a statement, mentioning that Washington DC would soon start exporting air-to-ground missiles to the West Asian nation. According to the statement, the missiles would be handed over to Saudi Arabia in a phased manner on the basis of a revised Arms Transfer Policy. The State Department defended the Biden Administration’s decision, stressing that there have not been any Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. Also, cross-border fire from Yemen into the Kingdom has largely stopped since March 2022 (when Saudi Arabia and Yemen entered into an UN-led truce).

A senior official of the Biden Administration stated on the condition of anonymity: “We will consider new transfers on a typical case-by-case basis consistent with the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy. The Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours.” Reuters quoted the official as saying: “We also note the positive steps that the Saudi Ministry of Defence have taken over the past three years to substantially improve their civilian harm mitigation processes, in part thanks to the work of US trainers and advisers.“

Meanwhile, defence analysts are of the opinion that the US has decided to lift the ban in an attempt to put Iran under pressure! It may be noted that the Islamic Republic publicly threatened to attack Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31, 2024 in Tehran. Analysts believe that the US is desperately trying to buy support of the Arab World in its venture against Iran in West Asia.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das