Daijiworld Media Network – Ramallah
Ramallah, Oct 11: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed legislative elections scheduled for next month until September 11, 2027, and called for presidential elections to be held on the same date, citing Israeli restrictions and the security situation in the Palestinian territories.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Abbas’ decree cited obstacles arising from Israeli measures and the need to establish suitable political, security and ground conditions for free, fair and inclusive elections.
However, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected the explanation, describing it as “yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability”. He pointed out that the Palestinians had not held a national election for two decades.
The Palestinian Authority had been facing doubts over whether the elections would proceed as scheduled next month. The Palestinians have not held legislative or presidential elections since 2005-2006. Following the elections, the Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza, ousting forces loyal to Abbas.
Abbas has governed by decree since his presidential mandate expired in 2009.
The decree cited Israeli military operations, settlement expansion, settler violence and movement restrictions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as major obstacles to organising the elections. It also pointed to Israel’s continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues.
In Gaza, the decree referred to exceptional security and humanitarian conditions, the incomplete withdrawal of Israeli forces, limited progress in reconstruction and delays in arrangements for deploying international stabilisation forces and police.
The decree called on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza to participate in the elections. It also cited Israeli restrictions on access for election commission staff and international observers to Gaza and East Jerusalem as factors complicating preparations.
Israel generally bars the Palestinian Authority from holding elections in East Jerusalem, which it captured during the 1967 war and later annexed. The annexation is not recognised by most countries.
The postponement followed consultations with Palestinian factions and political groups. Abbas’ administration said the additional time would allow comprehensive national dialogue aimed at strengthening Palestinian unity and addressing challenges facing the electoral process.
Two Palestinian officials told Reuters that leaders of Abbas’ Fatah movement and rival Hamas had agreed at a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday to postpone the elections.
An August poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed declining support for both Hamas and Fatah, which many Palestinians blame for the continuing political divisions in the West Bank and Gaza.
The decision comes weeks after Abbas reaffirmed the November election timetable in his September 24 address to the United Nations General Assembly, as he sought to advance internationally backed reforms.
Abbas had also committed in writing to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to hold presidential and legislative elections as part of efforts linked to France’s recognition of a Palestinian state in September 2025.
France’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that holding the elections was essential and welcomed the launch of an European Union election observation mission.