Palestinian election delay sought, source says

A participant in talks between Palestinian factions told AFP that Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front agreed to recommend postponing planned legislative elections so a national dialogue can be held first.

The legislative elections are scheduled for November 28. If they go ahead, they would be the first Palestinian parliamentary elections in two decades.

Jibril Rajoub, secretary general of Fatah's central committee and head of its national dialogue delegation, said representatives met in Egypt on Wednesday. He said another dialogue would take place next week and grow into a wider national dialogue to seek common ground on political issues concerning “a fully sovereign Palestinian state on the territories occupied in 1967”.

Rajoub did not give the date of the next meeting.

A source who took part in the meeting said the four factions agreed on the need for a comprehensive national dialogue involving all factions and forces. The source said they also agreed to submit a recommendation to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee to postpone the elections to allow time for dialogue and consensus.

Many Palestinians expect the vote to be delayed or cancelled, as happened in 2021. An August poll by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre found that 29 percent of Palestinians expected the November election to take place as scheduled.

The last legislative elections in the Palestinian territories were held in 2006, when Hamas defeated Fatah. The Palestinian Legislative Council has not met since 2007. Abbas stayed in office beyond the end of his term in 2009 and has since ruled by decree.