Hamas and Fatah agree to form a government. What does it mean and who are these Palestinian groups? WSOC TV [Video]

RAMALLAH, West Bank — (AP) — Palestinian factions and bitter foes Hamas and Fatah signed a declaration in China vowing to form a unity government to govern the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip following the end of the Israel-Hamas war.

The agreement announced in Beijing on Tuesday, which also included 12 smaller Palestinian parties, could start the thawing of relations and potential reconciliation of the two heavyweights of Palestinian politics who have long been at odds over the governance of the Palestinian territories.

Israel has ruled out any initiative that would lead to Hamas or the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority governing Gaza, and the China deal offers only a broad outline on how Fatah and Hamas would work together.

Here is a look at the relationship between the two and the challenges that lie ahead.

An agreement between old Palestinian foes

The secular Fatah party and Hamas, a Sunni Islamist party, have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s.

Tensions between the two climaxed after the …