Awad Rjoob and Rania Abushamala
07 October 2026•Update: 07 October 2026
Israel has refused to allow representatives of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to enter Gaza and occupied East Jerusalem ahead of legislative elections scheduled for late November, a Palestinian source said Tuesday.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted an unnamed official source as saying the Israeli government had denied the commission entry to oversee the electoral process. No further details were provided.
On July 9, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree setting Nov. 28 as the date for legislative elections in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza. If held, they would be the first such elections since 2006.
The commission began accepting applications to register electoral lists on Sept. 26, receiving eight applications during the first four days. Registration remains open until Oct. 13.
Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh told journalists on Aug. 2 that an alternative arrangement would be pursued if elections could not take place because they were prevented or obstructed in Gaza or any other part of the Palestinian territories.
“The alternative plan is to form the Palestinian National Council by consensus, as the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” he said.
About 2.97 million Palestinians are eligible to vote, including approximately 1.59 million in the West Bank, 1.24 million in Gaza and 140,000 holders of Jerusalem identity cards.
The last Palestinian legislative elections were held in 2006, when Hamas won a majority of seats.
A political split followed between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas took control of Gaza about a year later, while the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority remained in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Legislative Council has been inactive since 2007. The Supreme Constitutional Court ordered its dissolution in 2018.