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Municipal elections are usually local affairs, primarily of interest to those who live in the cities, towns and villages where they take place. They also tend to focus on public services and local governance rather than national politics. The municipal elections held across the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip city of Deir Al-Balah last month, however, were something of an exception. Elections have become increasingly rare in the Occupied Territories and these were the first to take place since the start of the devastating war in Gaza, while the security and economic situation in the West Bank continues to deteriorate almost daily.
In a territory where no national elections have been held for nearly 20 years and where the last elections led to the damaging political split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip and deep hostility between Fatah and Hamas, which govern the two territories respectively, local elections carry far greater significance than they do in most places. This is especially true because the Palestinian Authority, even at the best of times, exercises only limited authority under the broader framework of Israeli occupation.
Palestinians can hardly be described as naive. They are acutely aware that the power of the ballot box is limited in municipal elections, particularly in Gaza. Yet despite calls by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to boycott the elections, 53 percent of more than 1 million eligible voters in the West Bank participated, while turnout in Deir Al-Balah reached 20 percent. This participation sent an important message: Palestinians have not given up hope that change is possible through democratic processes.
To understand these elections, it is important to recognize that most candidates were affiliated with Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank, or were independent. It is the same Fatah that has controlled the PA since its establishment in 1994 following the Oslo Accords and has dominated the Palestine Liberation Organization since its inception. This Fatah near-exclusivity in the elections was not a coincidence; earlier this year, President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree requiring all candidates to endorse the PLO’s “national program.” Hamas and other hard-line factions rejected this requirement because it would implicitly accept recognition of Israel, renounce terrorism and support a two-state solution.
The relatively high level of political participation reflects an even stronger desire among Palestinians for legislative and presidential elections in both the West Bank and Gaza. According to the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, about two-thirds of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories support holding such elections. However, 60 percent of respondents believe that the PA has no genuine intention of holding national elections anytime soon.
Palestinians’ participation reflected a mixture of realism and pragmatism, while also sending a message to the world.
Yossi Mekelberg
At the same time, successive Israeli governments have done their utmost to prevent such elections from materializing, often in tacit coordination with Abbas. The fear that Hamas could repeat its 2006 victory in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections remains stronger than confidence that Fatah or another moderate force could persuade voters to support them. For Israel, these internal Palestinian divisions have been instrumental in maintaining and entrenching the occupation.
It is the resolve of so many Palestinians to exercise their democratic duty and maintain hope for a better future — one that they determine — that makes these local elections particularly significant. They are unwilling to be deterred by Hamas’ opposition to the elections or their scant trust in the current institutions led by Fatah. Given the widespread distrust of the PA and its leadership, the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, increasing settler violence and a stagnant economy, the easier choice for many Palestinians would have been either to reject the elections altogether or to remain apathetic toward them, viewing them merely as symbolic gestures.
Their participation reflected a mixture of realism and pragmatism, while also sending a message to the international community. Although these elections may have only a limited impact on daily life in the West Bank, and even less in Gaza, Palestinian society continues to demonstrate an interest in democratic participation rather than permanent rule under occupation, unrepresentative leadership, insecurity and the absence of social and economic opportunity.
These elections and their results cannot be understood in isolation from the broader realities facing Palestinians today. After more than seven months of ceasefire in Gaza, hostilities and casualties may have declined significantly, yet more than 800 Palestinians have reportedly been killed by Israeli forces since then, while the humanitarian situation remains dire. The question of what the “day after” in Gaza will look like remains as unclear now as it was when the ceasefire was announced last October. And the situation in the West Bank is bleak too.
The municipal elections may offer an indication of a growing desire for younger leadership and new political ideas.
Yossi Mekelberg
For the people of Gaza, most of whom still live under Hamas’ control, while more than half the territory remains occupied by Israel, the prospect of electing representatives and rebuilding their lives under an independent governing body remains distant. The members of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, appointed by the Trump administration and tasked with managing civil affairs in Gaza, have yet to enter the territory. Conflicting reports continue to emerge over whether Israel has authorized their entry. As a result, Gazans remain in limbo about who will govern them until elections reunify the West Bank and Gaza under a single political authority.
Against this backdrop, the municipal elections may offer an indication of a growing desire for younger leadership and new political ideas, whether emerging from within Fatah or from outside the movement altogether. Despite the generally bleak atmosphere, many younger Palestinians from diverse professional backgrounds, including business, academia, civil society and grassroots activism, chose to stand as candidates. By participating, they signaled a willingness to challenge both the current leadership and the increasingly unbearable political status quo.
In January, Abbas declared that 2026 “will be the year of Palestinian democracy.” Following the municipal elections, Fatah’s eighth General Conference, aimed at restructuring the movement’s leadership, is scheduled for Thursday. Later this year, elections are also expected for the Palestinian National Council, the PLO’s legislative body that represents Palestinians in both the Occupied Territories and the diaspora. Reforming and renewing these institutions would be an important step toward eventual presidential and legislative elections.
If Palestinians are genuinely given the opportunity to choose their representatives freely at all levels of governance, there is a greater chance that those institutions will be viewed as credible and legitimate by their own public and the international community. There are no easy choices facing Palestinians today. Nevertheless, the restoration of democratic processes is an important first step toward the election of a leadership capable of credibly pursuing their aspirations for self-determination, freedom, security and prosperity.
• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House.
X: @YMekelberg