The chairman of Hamas's Politburo has chosen a very special time to have a dialogue with the Chinese ambassador to Qatar. And does the secret talks between the two sides, which have not come out with any news in advance, indicate that China will make greater moves to promote ceasefire talks in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the future?
On the last day of February, Hamas took the initiative to post on social media ** that their Politburo Chairman Haniye met with Chinese Ambassador to Qatar Cao Xiaolin in Doha, and the two sides mainly discussed the current development of the situation in Gaza, the specific ways to cease the ceasefire and cease the fighting, and how to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.
Chairman of the Hamas Politburo Haniyeh].
Haniyeh also stressed the need for Palestinian statehood, noting that Israel must stop its offensive on Gaza and withdraw its troops. In addition, although Hamas has no formal diplomatic contacts with China, Haniye told the Chinese ambassador that he is proud of the "close relationship" between China and Palestine and appreciates China's position in the UN Security Council.
It is necessary to point out here that it has been less than half a year since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, and although China has actively participated in diplomatic mediation actions, it has rarely engaged in dialogue with Hamas on the surface.
Last year, there was news that Hamas sent representatives to China, but our side was noncommittal, and only said that we were in touch with all sides. Hamas, on the other hand, did not make public any information later.
Therefore, the meeting between the chairman of the Hamas Politburo and the Chinese ambassador to Qatar is likely to be the first publicly disclosed dialogue between China and Hamas since the outbreak of the conflict.
Hamas said last year that it would send representatives to China
As for why the two sides chose to engage at this time, it is inseparable from the latest developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and it can be regarded as choosing a special point in time. We also know that Hamas and Israel are at loggerheads in Gaza, but in private they are in full swing in ceasefire negotiations, largely in Doha.
US Affairs Assistant Jake Sullivan said a few days ago that the parties have reached a consensus on the basic outlines of the temporary ceasefire hostage agreement, and it is expected that an agreement will be reached soon.
It's just that a slap doesn't make a sound, and the "parties" in Sullivan's mouth are only the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Israel, but it is still unknown whether Hamas accepts it.
Moreover, Israel's attitude is particularly tough, and the United States only released the rumors, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu then came forward to "dismantle Taiwan". Regardless of whether the two sides can cease fire and exchange hostages, the Israeli army will eventually attack the Rafah crossing and achieve a "complete victory" in the fighting in Gaza within a few weeks.
People in Gaza are waiting for an airdrop
Netanyahu also went out of his way to say that Israel and the United States are "on the same page" on this issue.
But don't look at what Netanyahu said, the United States has repeatedly said that Biden is dissatisfied with Israel's current military plan, and the two sides have shown signs of "looking at each other".
Even though the United States, for the sake of its own strategic interests in the Middle East, has repeatedly vetoed resolutions that are obviously unfavorable to Israel in the Security Council, Israel's stubborn stance has also slowed down the United States' diplomatic efforts to mediate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
It's just that the two sides are already deeply bound in a relationship of interests, and in recent times, the United States seems to have frequently spoken hard words about Israel, but this is a diplomatic need, and the purpose is to give Middle Eastern countries an attitude, that is, the United States will not blindly favor Israel.
But beyond what it says, whether the United States will make more constructive words and deeds for a ceasefire and an end to the war is another matter.
Israel and Hamas are fighting while negotiating].
Moreover, given the re-emergence of large-scale civilian** incidents at the Gaza pick-up point, a new round of ceasefire negotiations may again be uncertain.
Above all, there is no mutual trust mechanism between Hamas and Israel, which is the root cause of the protracted war.
It is added here that some time ago, the Palestinian autonomy ** was dissolved, and within a few days, Russia sent a message that various Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, would talk in Moscow. This seems to be Russia's attempt to broker internal reconciliation in Palestine.
However, the relationship between Hamas and Fatah is not very harmonious. On the Palestinian-Israeli issue, although the goal of both factions is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, their attitudes toward Israel are completely different.
Fatah is more moderate and advocates engagement with Israel, while Hamas, for its part, is much more aggressive. More than a decade ago, an infighting broke out between the two factions. When Hamas won the election, Fatah did not recognize it, and then Hamas backhanded Fatah out of Gaza.
To this day, the contradictions show no signs of easing. And against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the two factions have not forgotten to accuse each other and say their own things. It can be seen that even if Russia intervenes to mediate, it will not be easy for the two factions to reach a political reconciliation in a short period of time and achieve unanimity with the outside world.
The U.S. attitude toward the ceasefire has shifted from optimism to pessimism
At such a time, Hamas approached China, which shows that they attach great importance to China's influence, but there is no particularly direct communication channel between the two sides, so the chairman of the Hamas Politburo met with our ambassador to Qatar.
China's attitude towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is clear at a glance, it adheres to an objective and neutral position, and does not condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization in a one-sided manner, as the Western society does, but constantly stresses the importance of a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, and does its best to provide humanitarian assistance and de-escalate the situation.
To put it bluntly, on the issue of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China has no selfish interests and is very pragmatic. When Hamas's top officials meet with the Chinese ambassador to Qatar at this time, they may be trying to find some common language with the Chinese side and send some signals to Israel.
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