The Palestinian Authority decided to postpone legislative elections, the first in 20 years since Hamas seized power in 2006, yet again. The elections were supposed to be held on Nov. 28. Since 2006, Hamas has been ruling in Gaza, while Fatah has been governing in Judea and Samaria.

Citing concerns about the deteriorating political, economic, and security conditions in the territories, Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh explained in a letter dated Oct. 8 to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot that the elections would be postponed until September 2027.

Al Sheikh said that the Palestinian Authority had set the date of the elections with the expectation that President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan would have effected changes, such as curbing settler violence, the deployment of the international security force (ISF) and Palestinian police in Gaza, the demilitarization of the Strip, and the withdrawal of the Israeli military.

“However, these steps, understandings and promises have not materialized. Rather, conditions have worsened throughout the Palestinian territory,” the letter said.

“The assessment concluded that the anticipated political, security and economic conditions, on which the scheduling of the legislative elections for 28 November 2026 was based, have not materialized,” the letter explained.

“Holding them under the current circumstances faces fundamental obstacles affecting their inclusiveness, freedom of participation and the integrity of the electoral process,” it said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had announced in February that direct elections for the Palestinian National Council would be held on Nov. 1 and would be open to all Arabs from Gaza, Judea and Samaria, as well as those who now live elsewhere around the world.

The 90-year-old is in the 21st year of the four-year term he was elected to in 2005, yet he has called this year, 2026, “the year of Palestinian democracy.” He has not called for presidential elections, however.

This would not be the first time Abbas has called for elections, but in the past they did not materialize. For this reason, skepticism that elections will take place runs high.