The Palestinian Authority has told France that legislative elections scheduled for November 28 in the occupied West Bank will be postponed by several months, according to two Palestinian officials briefed on the communications. The delay, outlined in a letter to Paris, comes as Fatah, the governing party, suffers from deep internal rifts, the New York Times reported.
Israeli outlet Arutz Sheva reported that Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh wrote that worsening conditions made the date impossible and that the vote would move to September 2027. That date has not been confirmed by Ramallah, and the Palestinian Central Elections Commission had not announced a change on its own timetable page, which still lists polling for November 28. The Times of Israel also reported the delay, and Al-Monitor, carrying a Reuters exclusive, said the letter was addressed to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
The postponement would end a process that Mahmoud Abbas began in July, when he set November 28 as the date for the first Palestinian elections in twenty years. A presidential decree called voters in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza to elect the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council. As recently as August, Abbas said the vote would go ahead as scheduled.
Registration had been moving. Abbas extended the nomination window from 12 to 18 days after seven lists applied, and nine lists had filed by October 6, among them Mustafa Barghouti’s National Initiative and a Palestine for All list. The commission stressed that filing an application does not mean a list has been accepted. Hamas, meanwhile, had publicly insisted the vote proceed while privately hoping it would be delayed, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The obstacles were visible months ago, when the Palestinian legislative elections already faced deep uncertainty over Hamas participation, Israeli cooperation on East Jerusalem and Gaza’s near-total destruction. Washington has since barred Abbas from entering New York, a reminder of how little control the Authority has over the conditions for any vote. France had welcomed the decree and the promise of presidential elections in early 2027, so the letter to Paris signals that both timelines are now in doubt. Ynet tied the election date to a pledge Abbas made to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Whether the delay is formally announced, and whether Hamas and the smaller lists accept a postponement without a deal on how the vote will be run, will decide if the process survives. If the date slides to late 2027, the Authority’s own deadline for presidential elections slips with it.
