Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reads a statement during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, in Ramallah, West Bank, on Oct. 24, 2023. (Credit: Christophe Ena/AFP)
The last time Palestinians elected their parliament, the results deepened the Palestinian political divide. In January 2006, Hamas defeated Fatah in the legislative elections. A year later, the Islamist movement seized control of the Gaza Strip. Since then, the Palestinian Legislative Council has ceased to function. Twenty years after that vote, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to reopen the polls. On July 9, the 90-year-old leader issued a decree setting legislative elections for Nov. 28 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, devastated by the Israeli offensive launched after Oct. 7. Elected in 2005 to a four-year term, Mahmoud Abbas has never put his position at stake since. He has governed by decree for years, presiding over institutions plagued by corruption and increasingly disconnected from...
The last time Palestinians elected their parliament, the results deepened the Palestinian political divide. In January 2006, Hamas defeated Fatah in the legislative elections. A year later, the Islamist movement seized control of the Gaza Strip. Since then, the Palestinian Legislative Council has ceased to function. Twenty years after that vote, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to reopen the polls. On July 9, the 90-year-old leader issued a decree setting legislative elections for Nov. 28 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, devastated by the Israeli offensive launched after Oct. 7. Elected in 2005 to a four-year term, Mahmoud Abbas has never put his position at stake since. He has governed by decree for years, presiding over institutions plagued by corruption and increasingly disconnected from...
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