(Oct. 10, 2026 / JNS)

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday issued a decree calling for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on Sept. 11, 2027, while revoking a previous decree that had scheduled a legislative election for Nov. 28, 2026, the official WAFA news agency reported.

The decree follows a decision by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and consultations with Palestinian factions and political forces, the report said.

The move “comes amid continued Israeli military attacks, settlement expansion, colonist violence and repeated Israeli incursions across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem,” it added.

“Taken together, these conditions affect the possibility of holding free, fair and inclusive elections on the previous date while ensuring public safety and the ability of Palestinians to exercise their electoral rights freely and securely throughout the Palestinian territories,” continued the report.

The report said the postponement aims to allow for a “comprehensive national dialogue to strengthen Palestinian unity,” preserve the integrity of the “territory and political system,” and ensure the participation of Palestinians across Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Gaza, while safeguarding their “political and constitutional rights.”

Reuters reported on Friday that Ramallah had decided to postpone the vote by several months, citing an Oct. 8 letter from Palestinian Authority “Vice President” Hussein al-Sheikh to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

“The anticipated political, security and economic conditions” required to hold the elections “have not materialized,” al-Sheikh wrote.

In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Friday noted that the P.A. has not held presidential elections since 2005 or legislative elections since 2006.

“Mahmoud Abbas is fooling the international community by canceling once again promised elections. His reform pledges to end ‘pay-for-slay’ terrorist salaries and hate education remain empty too,” wrote Sa’ar. “They keep deceiving. Consequences? Not for the corrupt PA!”

Abbas issued a decree in July scheduling a legislative election for Nov. 28. The P.A. boss had called a similar election in 2021 but later canceled it.

The vote would have been the first since January 2006, when Hamas defeated Abbas’s Fatah faction. Following the terrorist group’s victory, a violent internecine war erupted, culminating in Hamas seizing control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and leaving Abbas to govern in Ramallah.