Abbas Schedules Palestinian Legislative Elections for November, Skeptics Doubt It Happens

Summary

Mahmoud Abbas has announced November 28 as the date for Palestinian legislative elections, the first in roughly 20 years. The last time Palestinians voted for a legislature was 2006, and the gap since then is not merely procedural: it reflects two decades of political paralysis, a Hamas-Fatah split that never healed, and an authority whose legitimacy has frayed at the edges. Abbas, now in his late eighties, set a similar election date in 2021, then canceled it months later, citing Israel's refusal to allow voting in East Jerusalem. That history is exactly what analysts are pointing to now. Questions about whether the Palestinian Authority has the logistical capacity, the geographic reach across the West Bank and Gaza, and the political standing to pull off a credible vote are all very much open. Hamas has not confirmed it will participate. Whether this November date holds, or follows the 2021 date into the dustbin, may depend less on Abbas's calendar and more on negotiations that have barely begun.