Overview
- President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree fixing legislative elections for November 28 and called on Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to vote.
- The decree follows new election measures that increase PLC seats from 132 to 200, lower the minimum candidate age to 23 and require at least one-third of list members to be women.
- A law requiring candidates to accept the PLO political programme, including recognition of Israel and a two‑state framework, could bar or complicate participation by Hamas and allied figures.
- Israel has not publicly confirmed arrangements to allow voting in occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza faces major barriers after wartime displacement and destruction that have undone voter rolls and polling infrastructure.
- Donor governments have pressed the Palestinian Authority for reforms and linked aid to credible elections, and Abbas has separately scheduled presidential elections for early 2027, leaving the November date set but its inclusiveness uncertain.