Abbas scraps legislative election, sets Nov. 2027 for Palestinians to ...

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas formally cancels the legislative elections scheduled for November 28, 2026, and sets presidential and legislative elections for November 11, 2027, according to a statement published by the PA’s official news outlet WAFA.

The statement says restrictions and attacks by Israel in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem undermine “the possibility of holding free, fair and inclusive elections on the previous date while ensuring public safety and the ability of Palestinians to exercise their electoral rights freely and securely.”

Abbas, 90, has not faced an election since 2005, and the PA legislature has been largely defunct since the last legislative election, in 2006, when Abbas’s Fatah lost to Hamas.

Under pressure from international backers, and seeking to gain international legitimacy to govern over Gaza, Abbas earlier this year had committed to holding a legislative election on November 28 and presidential elections at an undetermined date next year.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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