Major Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, have agreed on national unity and decided to set up a "reconciliation government" following meetings in China.

Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk announced Tuesday that the resistance group had signed an agreement with other Palestinian groups including rivals Fatah.

"Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity and we call for it," Abu Marzuk said.

Earlier, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed an agreement by 14 Palestinian factions to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern Gaza after the war.

Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah met in Beijing this week in a renewed bid for reconciliation.

As the meeting wrapped up Tuesday, China's top diplomat said the groups had committed to "reconciliation."

"The most prominent highlight is the agreement to form an interim national reconciliation government around the governance of post-war Gaza," Wang said following the signing of the "Beijing declaration" by the factions in the Chinese capital.

"Reconciliation is an internal matter for the Palestinian factions, but at the same time, it cannot be achieved without the support of the international community," Wang said.

China, he added, was keen to "play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East."

Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters ejected Fatah from the Gaza Strip after deadly clashes that followed Hamas's resounding victory in a 2006 election.

The Hamas movement has ruled Gaza since seizing control of it in 2007.

The secularist Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.