Rival Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas have signed an agreement aimed at ending their division and building unity following talks in Beijing, marking a diplomatic win for China.

Over the years Fatah and Hamas had already signed several agreements to build some unity government. All however have failed.

What gives hope is that this agreement might be sustained is the participation of all other Palestinian groups as well as the significance of China as the guarantee power behind this:

Senior representatives of 14 Palestinian factions reached the agreement – called the Beijing Declaration – after reconciliation talks that began on Sunday.

The pact aims to unite Palestinians in their conflict with Israel, which launched a war on militant group Hamas in Gaza in October.

The Chinese foreign ministry said the agreement was a first step to promote a "comprehensive, durable and sustainable ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip that would eventually lead to Palestine being admitted to the United Nations as a fully fledged member and becoming an independent state.

"The declaration reaffirms [the] commitment to establishing an independent state of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital city based on relevant UN resolutions and ensuring the integrity of Palestinian territory including the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza," ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

This implies that Hamas, as well as all other groups, have agreed to a two-state solution – the aim the United Nations has agreed upon. (Just last week the current Israeli parliament rejected such a solution.)

Also important is the envisioning of a unity government for Gaza:

Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday said the signing of the agreement was "an important, historic moment in the Palestinian cause".

He said that under the deal the rival groups had agreed to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern post-war Gaza.