RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestine and Oman on Friday agreed on unifying efforts to achieve an intra-Palestinian reconciliation.

This came during a phone call between Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi and Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hussein al-Sheikh.

Al-Sheikh said on X that he discussed with the Omani foreign ministers all developments and stressed "the continuation of bilateral, Arab and international action to stop the ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people" in Gaza.

He said the phone call also addressed Israel’s recent decision to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state. “The best international response to them (Israel) is for the countries of the world to recognize the State of Palestine in order to preserve the two-state solution," he added.

On July 18, the Knesset Israel's parliament passed a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“In order to preserve the two-state solution. HE Mr. Badr expressed his support for Palestinian reconciliation efforts. We agreed to unify Arab efforts to achieve this,” al-Sheikh said.

On Tuesday, 14 Palestinian groups, including Fatah and Hamas groups, signed a new statement in the Chinese capital Beijing pledging to end the state of division and form a national unity government.

The Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been politically divided since June 2007 due to sharp disagreements between Hamas and Fatah.

Hamas won a majority in the legislative elections of 2006. Since then, it has seized control of the Gaza Strip, and Fatah has governed the West Bank.

The recent intra-Palestinian agreement came as Israel continued its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 39,200 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023 following a Hamas attack.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar