Senior leaders of the Palestinian factions will convene in China next week to discuss the future of Gaza after the war, the New York Times said on Monday. The summit will bring together members of Hamas and Fatah who have been feuding for years. Earlier attempts to arrange the summit failed but as hopes for a negotiated cease-fire between Hamas and Israel grow, the urgency of such a meeting also increases.
The Times noted China's efforts to facilitate Palestinian unity amid its hopes to increase its presence in the Middle East.
According to the report, officials in Hamas have said they were willing to give up governing the Strip and assign responsibility for its rebuilding and rehabilitation to a government made up of independents. At the same time, the terror group rejected any suggestion that it would disarm and dismantle its military wing.
UN officials said it would be easier to raise funding to rebuild Gaza after the long war if Hamas, which is recognized in many countries as a terror organization was not involved in the governing of the Strip.
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Destruction caused by Israel's bombing of Khan Younis on Saturday
(Photo: Haitham Imad / EPA)
On Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Hamas bears legal, moral and political responsibility for prolonging the war. On Sunday, a member of his government went further and accused Hamas leaders of ignoring the suffering of Palestinians after the terror group claimed its senior military commander Mohammed Deif had survived an assassination attempt by Israel and that all was well.