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By Alexandra Stevenson and Adam Rasgon
Senior officials from Hamas and Fatah, the two rival Palestinian factions, will meet this week in Beijing as China seeks to demonstrate its larger role in Middle East diplomacy.
But expectations for truly broad progress are low. Previous attempts at mediation between Hamas and Fatah – including an assembly in Beijing in April – have failed to produce tangible results. The two teams have a complicated history and have been at odds for years, seeking to present themselves as the valid leader of the Palestinian people and fearing that the other could undermine their power.
Rather, the Beijing meetings appear to be a move by China to position itself as a peace negotiator after having effectively mediated a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran last year. Beijing is not involved in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas led through Qatar, Egypt and the United States, but Palestinian experts have said the cooperation between Hamas and Fatah is for discussions about Gaza’s post-war future.
Both Hamas and Fatah sent senior officials to the Chinese capital for those meetings, as did smaller Palestinian factions.
Earlier this month, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas figure, said that Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas’ Politburo, would attend the meetings, but participants said Haniyeh was not present.
Mustafa Barghouti, chairman of the Palestinian National Initiative, one of the smaller factions, said progress had been made in meetings in Beijing, but warned that the real check would be whether Hamas and Fatah would take steps to cooperate on the ground.
Wang Yi, China’s most sensible diplomat, was scheduled to meet with Hamas and Fatah on Tuesday. China’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. In reaction to questions about the meetings at a news conference on Monday, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry said. “China has firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to repair their valid national rights,” adding that the main points of the meetings will be released “in due course. “
Chinese diplomats must take ambitious steps that threaten to reveal the limits of their own influence, said Robert Mogielnicki, a senior fellow at the Arab Institute for Gulf States in Washington.
“Chinese officials will provide a foreign platform to their regional partners,” he said. “But the overall goal here is Beijing’s global stature. “
Palestinian analysts were equally pessimistic, citing significant obstacles.
Hamas and Fatah went to Beijing to appease their Chinese hosts, said Akram Atallah, a Palestinian columnist for Al-Ayyam, a Ramallah-based newspaper.
“They are going to China to make agreements, expand cooperation and build a political partnership,” he said. “They will honor China’s role. “
Zixu Wang contributed to this report from Hong Kong.
Alexandra Stevenson is the Times’ Shanghai bureau leader, reporting on China’s economy and society. More about Alexandra Stevenson
Adam Rasgon is a Times reporter in Jerusalem covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs. Learn more about Adam Rasgon
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