Palestinians Vote in West Bank and Deir Al-Balah Local Elections as Hamas Is Barred

Palestinians voted on Saturday in local elections in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where Hamas operates, marking “the first poll of any kind to be held in Gaza since 2006,” according to the BBC.

The vote was described by Palestinian officials as a largely symbolic “pilot” election, with the Palestinian Authority seeking to “politically link Gaza and the West Bank,” as the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported from Deir al-Balah.

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Electionstook place across the occupied West Bank, as well as in Deir al-Balah, where Hamas operates, and Hamas was not allowed to stand in the Gaza city, the BBC said.

The Associated Press reported that Palestinian authorities called the local elections in a single Gaza community and the Israeli-occupied West Bank a success and said they were “a step toward a long-delayed presidential election in the territories and eventual statehood.”

In Gaza, the PBS and AP accounts both put turnout at 23%, with PBS stating “Turnout there was 23%” and AP reporting “Turnout there was 23%” while citing challenges including “large-scale displacement and outdated civil registry records.”

In the West Bank, AP reported turnout at 56%, describing it as “over a half-million people,” while the Times of Israel reported that by 5 p.m. turnout in the West Bank reached 40.62 percent and that participation in Deir al-Balah was “just 21.2 percent” by the time polls closed at 6 pm.

The elections took place under conditions that excluded Hamas and narrowed the field, with the BBC saying Hamas was not allowed to stand and that “several other factions have boycotted it over a requirement that candidates recognise the authority of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).”

The BBC further described the legal requirement that candidates commit to recognising “the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, its political and national programme, and the relevant decisions of international legitimacy,” and it said the PLO-dominated Palestinian Authority has formally claimed to be the legitimate government in Gaza despite exercising no effective control there.

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The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Abbas, 90, hoped to establish an independent state in both territories and that Hamas did not field candidates in Deir al-Balah, which was damaged by airstrikes but spared an Israeli ground invasion in more than two years of war.

DW reported that polling centers opened on Saturday, April 25, 2026, with voting beginning at seven o'clock in the morning Jerusalem time (04:00 GMT) and set to end at five in the evening (14:00 GMT) in Gaza and at 7:00 PM (16:00 GMT) in the West Bank.

DW also said about 250 officers from the Interior Ministry, which is run by Hamas, secured polling centers in Deir al-Balah, while “Thousands of police officers are taking part in security at polling stations in West Bank towns and villages.”

Multiple outlets tied the election’s timing to the war and to reforms, with the BBC referencing a fragile ceasefire in place as part of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan that halted the fighting in October last year, and with the AP saying the elections were “the first to take place since reforms were enacted in response to international pressure.”

Voters and political figures framed the elections as both a right and a test of governance under war conditions.

In Deir al-Balah, Ashraf Abu Dan said, “I came to vote because I have a right to elect members to municipal council so they can provide us with services,” a line repeated across the Chattanooga Times Free Press and NBC News.

Khalid al-Qawasmeh, a voter in Beitunia, told reporters, “Municipal laws need to be enforced so people feel there's justice,” according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press and NBC News.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa urged citizens to vote and participate strongly, and DW quoted Mustafa urging citizens to “go to the ballot boxes, cast their votes, seize the opportunity, and participate strongly in the 2026 local elections.”

The Ramallah-based Central Election Commission chairman Rami Hamdallah said, “We're talking about geographically linking the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” and he also told journalists, “Simply holding the elections in Deir al-Balah is a significant achievement, and we hope to hold elections in other bodies across the Gaza Strip in the near future,” as reported by NBC News and AP.

In contrast, Marwan Ennabi, described as a voter in Kalkilya, said, “This isn't transparency. This is chaos, chaos, chaos!” as quoted by the Times of Israel and DW.