Hamas, Fatah bury differences for 'national unity' in Beijing talks

Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk has announced his resistance group had signed an agreement with other Palestinian groups including rivals Fatah while on a visit to China.

"Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity and we call for it," Abu Marzuk said on Tuesday.

Various Palestinian factions agreed to end their divisions and strengthen Palestinian unity by signing the Beijing Declaration in China, according to Chinese state media.

The declaration was signed at the closing ceremony of a reconciliation dialogue among the factions held in Beijing from July 21-23, state broadcaster CCTV said.

A total of 14 Palestinian factions including the leaders of rival groups Fatah and Hamas also met with the media, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi present, CGTN said in a social media post.

Rival factions Hamas and Fatah met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end around 17 years of disputes.