Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree Saturday postponing legislative elections originally scheduled for November 28, 2026, and setting both presidential and legislative elections for September 11, 2027, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The decree followed a decision by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and consultations with Palestinian factions and political forces. Abbas' office stated the postponement was necessary due to "obstacles posed by Israeli measures" and the need to establish suitable political, security and on-the-ground conditions for "free, fair and inclusive elections."
The decree called on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza to participate in simultaneous elections to choose the Palestinian president and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Palestinian authorities cited several specific obstacles to holding elections as scheduled. These included Israeli military attacks, settlement expansion, settler violence, restrictions on movement, and Israel's retention of Palestinian tax revenues. For Gaza specifically, authorities pointed to the precarious security situation and the absence of international protection forces.
The postponement marks a significant delay for what would have been the first Palestinian legislative elections in nearly two decades. The last legislative elections took place in 2006, after which the Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza, ousting Abbas' Fatah party loyalists. Abbas has ruled by presidential decree since his mandate expired in 2009.
Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh had signaled the postponement in a letter sent October 8 to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, stating that political, economic and security conditions had changed significantly since the elections were originally announced.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected Abbas' explanation, stating on social media that Abbas "has once again deceived the international community" and that his attempt to implicate Israel was "yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability."
The international community, including the European Union, had advocated for the Palestinian Authority to hold legislative elections as part of required reforms. The Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah and dominated by Abbas' Fatah party, has administered semiautonomous parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank since agreements reached in the 1990s.