Palestinian President Abbas postpones legislative elections until September 2027

On Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Abbas of "fooling the international community by canceling once again promised elections" as rumours of the postponement circulated. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed legislative elections until September 2027, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported on Saturday. The report said Abbas had issued a decree calling for presidential and legislative elections to take place on 11 September 2027, with the presidency blaming "security, logistical and on-the-ground obstacles to establishing the conditions necessary for elections." Wafa later reported that the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation - the official representative of the Palestinian people - had approved postponing the election, saying conditions had "changed fundamentally" since the elections were announced. Legislative elections had previously been scheduled for 28 November this year. Brussels had signalled its support for the elections to go ahead in November. The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said earlier this week that the elections "would offer a long-overdue opportunity to renew the legitimacy of Palestinian institutions." "Palestinians have the right to choose their representatives in elections that are credible, inclusive and transparent," she added. In September, Dubravka Šuica, the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean, also said she "welcomed the decision to hold elections before the end of the year." "The elections will be an important democratic moment," she wrote in a post on social media. "Ensuring a fair, credible and inclusive electoral process is essential to strengthening Palestinian institutions," Šuica added. On Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Abbas of "fooling the international community by canceling once again promised elections" as rumours of the postponement circulated. Legislative elections were last held in the Palestinian territories in 2006, when the Hamas Islamist movement emerged victorious after defeating the Fatah party.