Palestinian President Abbas sets legislative elections for November

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday (9 July) issued a decree declaring a legislative election for 28 November.

Should they take place, this would mark the first such vote in the Palestinian Territories since 2006.

"The presidential decree calls on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate in free and direct legislative elections to elect members of the Palestinian Legislative Council on the date specified," the Palestinian Authority's official Wafa news agency said.

Abbas, 90, won the presidential election held back in 2005 with a four-year mandate that would have ended in 2009.

However, the following year, Hamas beat out his Fatah party in the parliamentary vote. The power split led to both the legislature and voting effectively being suspended ever since.

Growing calls for first vote in a generation

The median age in the Palestinian Territories is about 20 years old, which means much of the population has never voted.

Holding legitimate elections has become a demand from the international community that supports the Palestinian Authority (PA) financially. Last month, Abbas also announced a presidential election would be held in 2027.

However, it is unclear how much power the Ramallah-based PA and Abbas actually have. The group has faced significant criticism from both Palestinians and abroad for political stagnation, corruption and decreasing legitimacy.

It also remains to be seen how an election might be carried out in Gaza, where Israeli strikes destroyed the vast majority of buildings and infrastructure in two years.

Moreover, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is due to take over power in the region after Hamas said they would hand over the reins to the technocratic panel, as agreed to in a US-backed peace deal with the Israeli government.