The Chinese government said the two sides engaged in in-depth and frank dialogue on promoting Palestinian reconciliation.
Rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas have met in China to discuss possible reconciliation.
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that representatives of the two organizations had recently met. The respective rulers of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have been competing for years, but Israel’s war in the besieged enclave has sparked further talks on a Palestinian settlement.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the two organizations visited China to have deep and frank dialogue about this prospect. He did not say when the meeting took place.
It added: “Both sides fully expressed their political will to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, and discussed many concrete issues, resulting in positive progress.”
“China and Palestine share traditional friendly relations. We support Palestinian factions to achieve reconciliation and strengthen unity through dialogue and consultation. We will continue to be proactive towards that goal. We will continue to work on it.”
Representatives of both groups and other political factions met in Moscow earlier this year to discuss the possibility of forming a Palestinian unity government.
Hamas has been in de facto control of Gaza since 2007, when it overthrew Fatah and then defeated President Mahmoud Abbas’ long-ruling party in parliamentary elections, ousting rivals from the enclave after refusing to recognize the vote results. has become a person.
The two groups have continued to control the occupied Palestinian territories, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, ever since.
China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Beijing has called for an immediate ceasefire since the Israel-Gaza war began in October, when Hamas attacks killed about 1,139 people, according to an Israeli tally.
Hamas and other armed groups also took about 250 prisoners in the offensive, and dozens are still being held in Gaza.
In contrast, Israeli forces have killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, according to the coastal enclave’s Health Ministry.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an “international peace conference” to end the war.
