Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed legislative elections until September 11, 2027, citing obstacles posed by Israel.
Abbas issued a decree on Saturday calling for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on that date, his office said in a statement carried by the official WAFA news agency.
The legislative polls, strongly advocated by the international community, had been scheduled for November 28 this year, while the presidential vote had been expected in early 2027.
The decree calls on Palestinians, including those in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, to take part in simultaneous elections for the president of the State of Palestine and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, WAFA reported.
The decree followed "a decision by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and consultations with Palestinian factions and political forces, which resulted in a national consensus on obstacles posed by Israeli measures to holding elections on the previously scheduled date and the need to establish suitable political, security and field conditions for free, fair and inclusive elections," the report said.
First parliamentary election since 2006
The council has been inactive since 2007 following an internal Palestinian rift. The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled to dissolve it in 2018.
Planned elections in 2021 were shelved by Abbas over Israel's refusal to permit voting in occupied East Jerusalem.
If conducted, the vote will represent the first Palestinian parliamentary election since 2006 and the third in Palestinian history, following polls in 1996 and 2006.
