The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, 90 years old, announced this Saturday the cancellation of the Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for November 28 and specified that they will be held together with the presidential elections on November 11, 2027.
According to the announcement, the change of schedule responds to the restrictions and attacks by Israel in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which affect "the possibility of holding free, fair, and inclusive elections." The text specifically refers to "Israeli military attacks, the expansion of settlements, settler violence, and repeated Israeli incursions throughout the West Bank."
The statement also mentions the obstacles to the freedom of movement of the Palestinian population and the withholding of passes by the Israeli authorities.
In his decree, Abbas calls for the participation of all citizens in elections that are canceled after a "national consensus among the factions and political forces (Palestinian) that in light of the Israeli measures, elections must be held under appropriate political and security conditions for free, fair, and inclusive elections."
The document also demands the opening of a phase of inclusive national dialogue that strengthens Palestinian unity, maintains the integrity of the territory and the political system, allows addressing the challenges of the electoral process, and ensures the participation of Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the exercise of their political and constitutional rights.
The Palestinian leader also denounces Israel's restrictions on the officials of the Central Election Commission and international observers, and laments the lack of an international stabilization force and a police force in Gaza as provided for in Resolution 1803.
"These conditions prevent the establishment of an adequate environment for elections and affect the security guarantees of voters, candidates, and electoral workers," he has denounced.
After the decision, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has shown its support for the measure, which it qualifies as "a step in the right direction." The Palestinian Islamist group emphasizes the urgency of rebuilding and reforming Palestinian institutions and "putting the house in order" with "free and fair elections," a "national priority to close ranks and protect national rights," explicitly supporting that there are currently no political and security conditions to hold the vote.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has also endorsed the postponement and has called for a "comprehensive dialogue" that allows for reaching national consensus to "face Israeli threats."
Abbas last won the presidential elections in 2005, and the last legislative elections were held in 2006, when Hamas defeated Abbas's Al Fatah Movement, which triggered the political crisis in the Gaza Strip that ended with the expulsion of Al Fatah from the enclave.