The U.S. State Department on Tuesday rejected the idea of a Hamas-Fatah unity government in the Gaza Strip, following the announcement of a Palestinian Arab unity deal in Beijing.
“Hamas has long been a terrorist organization. They have the blood of innocent civilians—both Israeli and Palestinian—on their hands,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “There can’t be a role for a terrorist organization.”
The “Beijing declaration” was signed by 14 Palestinian factions that took part in negotiations hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“Today, we sign an agreement, and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity, and we call for it,” said senior Hamas terrorist Musa Abu Marzouk.
Fatah, based in Ramallah, and Hamas have been split since 2007 following the latter’s violent takeover of Gaza. There have been many failed attempts to bring the two factions together.
Miller said on Tuesday that the United States wants the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority to rule, but without Hamas. “We want to see the Palestinian Authority governing a unified Gaza and the West Bank. But no, we do not support a role for Hamas,” he said in response to a reporter’s query during a press briefing.
The United States has urged the creation of a P.A.-ruled Palestinian state in both Gaza and Judea and Samaria even after Oct. 7 and despite Israeli opposition. To underscore the across-the-board nature of Israel’s disapproval, the Knesset last week voted overwhelmingly (68 to 9) to reject the establishment of such a state.
The Netanyahu government has also reiterated its position that Fatah is also a terrorist organization.
“I will not allow us to replace Hamastan with Fatahstan, that we replace Khan Younis with Jenin,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in December after meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Asked if the P.A.'s embrace of the “murderers and rapists of Hamas” would affect a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Miller said on Tuesday, “No, I don’t think either this announcement or the reaction to it should play a role in making the ... conclusion of those talks more difficult.”
With regard to the administration’s position on China’s role in brokering the unity agreement, Miller said it has encouraged China to use its influence with countries in the Middle East with which it has a relationship and the United States does not.
“So for example, Iran, which ... continues to finance and support proxies that have launched attacks on Israel, or in the case of the Houthis have launched attacks on commercial shipping, we have [asked] China to use its influence to try to bring those attacks to an end. And we’ll continue to do that,” he said.
