Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Friday that parliamentary and presidential elections will take place in the country for the first time in 15 years.
Abbas said in a decree that parliamentary elections will take place on May 22, and the presidential race will be held on July 31 in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
They will be the first such votes since 2006, when the militant group Hamas won in a resounding victory and sparked a clash with Abbas’ Fatah party, throwing the Palestinian Authority (PA) into a political crisis. Later, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in a bloody fight.
Abbas won the presidency for the first time in the 2005 elections to determine the successor to the late Yasser Arafat.
Although Fatah and Hamas have promised to hold elections for more than a decade, they have not been able to repair their bitter division, and it is still far from certain that the votes will actually be cast later this year. Hamas last week informed Abbas that it would agree to participate in the elections in a reconciliation effort.
Hamas in a statement on Friday expressed its “strong eagerness to make this obligation successful,” according to The Associated Press.
“We have worked in recent months to overcome all obstacles to reach this day and we have shown a lot of flexibility,” said the statement. He also called for dialogue before the vote.
The elections can pose enormous dangers for both parties, given the growing dissatisfaction with the worsening of the coronavirus pandemic, the lack of progress in the search for a state, poverty and much more.
However, it appears that Abbas may be in particularly acute political danger; the 85-year-old leader has been harassed by health problems and is especially unpopular, and it is possible that he will lose to a Hamas candidate.
Abbas’s AP was set aside during the Trump administration, which carried out a series of actions defended by Israel, including the move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the closure of the AP’s diplomatic mission in Washington. Still, if the elections pass, it could have huge implications for both Israel and the United States.
If Abbas loses to a Hamas candidate, it will raise significant questions about West Bank governance. It would be virtually impossible for a candidate from the militant group, which is recognized as a terrorist group by Israel and many Western countries, to take control of the West Bank, over which Jerusalem maintains overall control of security.
Abbas’ government in the West Bank coordinates with Israel on security issues, but Hamas has fought three wars with the Israeli military since taking control of the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas victory could also be a major blow to the president-elect Joe Biden
Joe Biden Confirmation hearing for Biden’s DNI choice postponed Biden’s tenure test on Sunday postponed due to security concerns: Murkowski report says it would be ‘appropriate’ to prevent Trump from taking office again MOREThe plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and restore the Palestinian adviser, as Washington views Hamas as a terrorist group.
It is still uncertain whether the votes will actually be cast later this year, given the impossibility of holding elections in recent years. It is also possible that Israel will block voting in East Jerusalem, which could also put elections at risk.