Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed legislative elections scheduled for next month until September 11, 2027, and set the same date for presidential elections, citing Israeli restrictions and the security situation in the Palestinian territories.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, a decree issued by Abbas said the delay was necessary to establish suitable political, security and operational conditions for “free, fair and inclusive elections”.
The decree cited Israeli military operations, settlement expansion, settler violence and movement restrictions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as obstacles to preparations for the elections. It also referred to Israel’s continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues.
In Gaza, the decree highlighted severe security and humanitarian conditions, the incomplete withdrawal of Israeli forces, delays in reconstruction and the lack of progress in arrangements for deploying international stabilisation forces and police.
It also cited restrictions on access for election commission staff and international observers to Gaza and East Jerusalem as further challenges to the electoral process.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected Abbas’ explanation, describing it in a post on X as “yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability”.
Palestinians have not held presidential elections since 2005 or legislative elections since 2006. Abbas has governed by decree since his presidential mandate expired in 2009.
Following the 2006 legislative elections, the Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza after a violent split with Abbas’ Fatah movement, deepening Palestinian political divisions.
The Palestinian Authority held municipal elections in April in the occupied West Bank and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Deir al-Balah was the only city in the enclave to participate, marking the first election held in Gaza since 2006.
The latest postponement followed consultations with Palestinian political factions and parties. The decree said the additional time would allow for comprehensive national dialogue aimed at strengthening Palestinian unity and addressing challenges facing the electoral process.
Two Palestinian officials told Reuters on Thursday that Fatah and Hamas leaders had agreed at a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday to postpone the elections.
An August survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed declining support for both Fatah and Hamas, which many Palestinians blame for the continuing political divisions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Abbas had reaffirmed the November election timetable in his September 24 address to the United Nations General Assembly, as part of efforts to advance internationally backed reforms.
He 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 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 a European Union election observation mission.
The decree called on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza to participate in the elections scheduled for September 11, 2027.
