Palestinian legislative election likely postponed amid calls for national dialogue

According to Fatah's top official Jibril Rajoub, the planned election for the Palestinian legislative council will be postponed. He stated that the process will only move forward after a wide-scale national dialogue reaches consensus on how to conduct the vote, and that a presidential election must be held beforehand as a cheaper and simpler step. The previous parliamentary election took place in 2006, resulting in a Hamas victory that was rejected by Israel, the United States and the European Union.

Subsequent attempts at a unity government in 2007, which Norway uniquely recognized, collapsed into armed conflict, leaving Hamas in control of Gaza and Fatah dominant on the West Bank. President Mahmoud Abbas, now 90, has repeatedly promised elections while extending his rule through presidential decrees, most recently ordering a presidential poll for early 2027.