Palestinian factions are discussing postponing legislative elections scheduled for November, amid unresolved logistical problems in Gaza and east Jerusalem and continuing internal divisions.
Mohammed al-Hindi, deputy secretary-general of the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad group, said factions had agreed to delay the vote after talks in Cairo. Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said no final decision had yet been confirmed.
Mr al-Hindi said the factions had “reached understandings regarding the resumption of Palestinian national dialogue and agreed to postpone the upcoming Palestinian elections”. He added that the Fatah delegation would return to Ramallah to complete consultations.
Fatah spokesman Abdel Fattah Dolah said the party wanted elections to go ahead, but that their timing would be addressed through “dialogue and national consensus” between the factions. Any potential postponement is also expected to be discussed by the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Mr Abbas, 90, set November 28 as the date for parliamentary elections in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. If held as planned, they would be the first Palestinian elections in 20 years.
Key arrangements remain unresolved, including how voting could be organised in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and in Gaza, which has been devastated by war. The main factions have not registered electoral lists, while the deadline for candidates is less than a week away.
Disputes over Palestinian election timing
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said the scheduled vote was premature and that Hamas would support postponement if it allowed the factions to hold a broader dialogue.
“Election is part of a democratic process, and it has to be built on a solid Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue to see how can we proceed forward in this conflict, and how to manage our internal disputes, and to offer, or how to present the Palestinians to the world with a united leadership, with a united vision,” he said.
Mr Abbas cancelled an earlier attempt to hold elections in 2021. Palestinian leaders have previously postponed votes at the last moment, citing difficulties including campaigning and voting in east Jerusalem.
Countries supporting the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority have pressed for elections as part of wider reforms. Failure to hold the vote could put further strain on the authority’s relations with donor countries that help fund it.
The Palestinian Authority has gradually lost popularity in Gaza and the West Bank, where many Palestinians regard it as ineffective, corrupt and acting as a subcontractor for Israel’s decades-long occupation.
Hamas won a majority of seats in the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council at the last elections, held in 2006. Israel and Western countries then boycotted its government, contributing to months of unrest that ended with Hamas taking control of Gaza the following year.
