The Palestinian Authority (PA) is set to hold its first legislative elections in 20 years on Nov. 28—if the vote proceeds as scheduled.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued the decree on Thursday, calling for the election to be held in all of the Palestinian Territories. The announcement comes as international and domestic pressure has mounted for the PA to reaffirm its legitimacy, especially after the October 2025 U.S.-brokered cease-fire renewed discussions of a future Palestinian state. The cease-fire created a technocratic committee to temporarily govern Gaza but the body has not yet entered the territory.
“The presidential decree calls upon the Palestinian people in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip to participate in free and direct legislative elections to elect members of the Palestinian Legislative Council,” the decree said, according to the official Wafa news agency.
But challenges remain, especially as nearly two million people have been displaced from their homes in Gaza, those in occupied East Jerusalem would need Israeli permission for an election, and ongoing Israeli attacks and movement restrictions could complicate any attempt to hold a vote.
What is the Palestinian Authority?
The PA was established in the 1990s as part of the Oslo Accords, a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The PA was intended to provide self-governance in certain Palestinian enclaves across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip for a five-year period while the two sides negotiated a permanent settlement, including the future status of a Palestinian state.
Due to ongoing Israeli military occupation and settlement expansion, however, the PA has remained as an administrative body with limited sovereignty. The PA has nominal authority over the Palestinian Territories, but in reality it exercises only partial civil control over parts of the West Bank. It has not controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 when Hamas took control. Hamas defeated Abbas’s dominant Fatah party in the last legislative elections in 2006. Since then, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the parliament of the Palestinian Authority, has largely been defunct, and was formally dissolved in 2018.
Calls for an election
The international community has called for governance reforms within the PA, especially in view of paving the way for Palestinian statehood. The E.U., which provides significant financial support to the PA, has consistently called for institutional reforms and supported Palestinian elections. Last June, Abbas also sent French President Emmanuel Macron a letter committing to holding elections under international supervision, which Macron said demonstrated a willingness to advance a two-state solution. In response to Abbas’s commitments, France recognized the State of Palestine in September. Several other Western countries, including the U.K., Canada, and Australia, also recognized a Palestinian state in September.
Abbas was elected to a four-year term in 2005 but has ruled by decree since. Critics have accused him of authoritarianism and failing to hold long-due elections. Last month, Abbas said presidential elections would be held in early 2027, although he did not say whether he would seek another term.
Elections have also been seen as an important step in establishing post-war Palestinian governance and advancing the stalled cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. Since the October cease-fire, the U.S., the European Union, and Arab states have argued that a “reformed Palestinian Authority” should eventually govern both the West Bank and Gaza.
Earlier this month, Hamas announced that it would dissolve its government and hand over its authority to a technocratic governing committee in an effort to move the cease-fire deal forward. The second phase of the cease-fire began in January, but parts of its terms have not been implemented, such as a complete withdrawal of Israel’s troops, Hamas’s disarmament, and the deployment of the technocratic committee and an International Stabilization Force. Both Hamas and Israel have also accused each other of violating the agreement.
Election challenges
Holding elections across the Palestinian Territories would not be without significant challenges. Nearly two million Palestinians—around 90% of Gaza’s pre-war population—have been displaced since Israel’s war with Hamas began in October 2023, with many being displaced multiple times due to Israeli evacuation orders, according to the United Nations. More than 90% of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed, according to an estimate by Al Jazeera, making it difficult to find the infrastructure to hold a vote.
The war also disrupted officials’ ability to maintain Gaza’s population registry, which would complicate efforts to compile voter rolls.
Gaza also held its first elections in 20 years in April. But because of the devastation from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, the elections were limited to one municipality, leaving only around five percent of the population—70,000 voters—eligible to cast their ballots. Ultimately, just under 16,000 people voted in the municipality of Deir al-Balah. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank voted in the municipal elections, the first vote held there since October 2023.
Moreover, Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued despite the cease-fire. As of late June, more than 1,000 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli attacks since the cease-fire took effect on Oct. 10, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Increased violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank may also make it difficult to safely hold elections. The U.N. reported more than 1,000 settler attacks—about six a day—as of June. More than 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced this year as a result of settler violence and access restrictions, according to the U.N.
In East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967, holding elections would require Israeli approval. Israel has not yet commented on the PA’s declaration.
In 2021, scheduled legislative and presidential elections in the Palestinian Territories were ultimately cancelled after Israel would not guarantee that voting could be held in East Jerusalem.
