Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has denied Israel’s responsibility for the postponement of Palestinian legislative and presidential elections, following the Palestinian leadership’s decision to reschedule the polls for September 11, 2027.
According to reports by the Associated Press and Reuters, the elections were originally scheduled for November 2026.
Sa’ar criticised the Palestinian leadership’s decision in a post on the social media platform X, accusing it of postponing the elections to mislead the international community.
Palestinian Leadership Cites Israeli Restrictions
The Palestinian leadership has attributed the postponement to restrictions imposed by Israel and the difficult security, political and ground realities in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
According to the Palestinian presidential decree, restrictions on movement in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the expansion of Israeli settlements and violence by settlers have created significant obstacles to holding free, fair and inclusive elections.
The decree also cited Israel’s withholding of Palestinian tax revenues as a major financial challenge.
Regarding Gaza, the Palestinian leadership pointed to the extraordinary security and humanitarian situation, the incomplete Israeli withdrawal and stalled reconstruction efforts, arguing that these conditions prevent the creation of an environment necessary for democratic elections.
Elections Rescheduled for September 2027
Under the revised schedule, Palestinian legislative and presidential elections will be held simultaneously on September 11, 2027.
The legislative elections had previously been scheduled for November 28, 2026. The presidential decree called on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate in the voting.
Long-Standing Palestinian Political Divide
The postponement comes amid a prolonged political division among Palestinians, with no legislative elections held since 2006, when Hamas won the majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The last Palestinian presidential election took place in 2005, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected president.
The political divide deepened in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian Authority continued administering parts of the West Bank.
Abbas’s presidential term expired in 2009, but no new presidential election has been held since then.
Repeated efforts to organise elections have faced political disagreements and practical obstacles, with proposed voting dates announced and subsequently postponed over the years.
The latest decision once again highlights the challenges facing Palestinian democratic institutions amid internal political divisions, Israeli restrictions and the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Source: Associated Press and Reuters, as cited in the original report by Al Arabiya Urdu.
