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Mahmoud Abbas postpones Palestinian legislative elections another year · Best of: Features

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  Mahmoud Abbas postponed Palestinian legislative elections another year. Written
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  by Sam Metz This article is being read by an automated voice
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  generated by Everlet. Ramallah, Westbank, the AP, President Mahmoud
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  Abbas postponed what would have been the first Palestinian elections in nearly
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  twenty years, issuing a decree on Friday to further delay voting for
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  the Palestinian Legislative Council almost another year. Rather than take place as
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  scheduled next month, the decree pushes The elections back to september eleventh,
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  twenty twenty seven, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency. Presidential
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  elections, which have not taken place for more than two decades, are
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  scheduled for the same day. The postponement leaves entrenched Palestinian leaders unchallenged,
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  and threatens to further erode the Palestinian Authorities credibility among ordinary Palestinians
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  and donor countries who fund it The internationally backed body is dominated
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  by Abbas Party, Fatah, and has missed administered semi autonomous parts of
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  the Israeli occupied West Bank since agreements reached in The nineteen nineties.
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  It has grown increasingly unpopular throughout Abbas presidency. Many Palestinians view it
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  as corrupt and criticize its security cooperation with Israel. The decree came
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  after a committee of top Palestinian officials met Saturday morning to discuss
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  postponing the vote. The Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, which Abbas
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  heads, said in a statement that conditions in East Jerusalem, the West
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  Bank and the Gaza Strip were not conducive to holding elections, noting
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  that Israel had not allowed election materials or international observers to enter
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  Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Tsar on X said that Abbas attempt
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  to drag Israel into this, falsely claiming that Israel imposed obstacles to
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  holding elections, is yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and
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  accountability. The move was expected after Palestinian factions across the political spectrum
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  met in Cairo for discussions on delaying the vote, Islamic Jihad Deputy
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  Secretary General Mohammed Al Hindi told the Associated Press earlier this week.
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  Hamas called the postponement a step in the right direction, and said
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  further talks should focus on rebuilding Palestinian institutions and holding elections at
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  a later date. Palestinians have not held a legislative election since two
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  thousand six, when Hamas won a majority of seats. Israel and Western
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  countries The boycotted its government, fueling months of unrest that led to
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  the Hamas takeover of Gaza the following year. Power has been divided
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  between Gaza and the West Bank in the two decades since, with
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  Hamas in control of Gaza and Abbas Palestinian authority in power in
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  the West Bank. The West Bank has grown increasingly violent in recent
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  years as Israel has expanded settlements and outposts. Settler attacks on Palestinians
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  and Israeli army raids on cities under the Authorities control are both
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  regularly reported. Though the US brokered ceasefire plan reached last year outlined
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  a future role for the Authority in Gaza, its immediate role was
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  left mostly undefined as Hamas has continued to govern the territory, and
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  the technocrats under the Board of Peace remain in Cairo awaiting permission
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  to enter the territory to oversee a transition of power. Before the
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  postponement, leading factions had not registered slates to contest the election. But
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  behind the scenes, veteran officials had been in talks to join forces
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  and take aim at Abbas. An unlikely alliance had emerged between Hamas,
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  Islamic Jihad, and a bloc led by former Fatah Security Chief Mohammed
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  Dalan. Dalan had previously been driven from Gaza by Hamas and was
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  exiled in twenty ten after a falling out with Abbas. Abbas is
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  terrified by the electoral alliance bringing our faction together with opposition factions
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  and forces within Fatah that reject his leadership. Dmitri Diliani, a spokesperson
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  for Dalan's faction, said in a statement. Abbas has served as president
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  since two thousand five and delayed several presidential and legislative elections throughout
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  his tenure.