Palestinians were voting Saturday in local elections that included Gaza for the first time in two decades, offering a test of public sentiment as Israel resists renewed Palestinian statehood efforts and says any future political arrangement must not empower Hamas or reward terrorism.
The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority hopes the symbolic inclusion of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah will help reinforce its claim to authority over the war-torn territory, from where it was ousted by Hamas in 2007.
Gazans, who are still struggling to meet their basic needs in the devastated enclave, welcomed the opportunity to vote.
"I've been hearing about elections since I was born," said Adham Al-Bardini, sitting next to the family's cooking pots outside their tent home in the city. "We are eager to take part ... so we can change the reality imposed on us."
Israel has extended control over Gaza and West Bank
Since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel took effect in October, intermittent talks led by the United States have made little progress toward a settlement that envisages international supervision of Gaza.
European and Arab governments broadly support an eventual return of Palestinian Authority governance in Gaza, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state comprising Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule under Israeli presence.
Western diplomats say local elections could pave the way for the first national elections in nearly two decades and help advance reforms to increase transparency and accountability that the Palestinian Authority says are already well under way.
They are the first Palestinian elections to be held since the Gaza war started more than two years ago with the cross-border Hamas assault on southern Israeli communities. Municipal elections were last held in the West Bank four years ago.
Israel has withheld some tax revenues it collects for the Palestinian Authority over the PA’s long-running stipends to security prisoners and families of attackers killed by Israeli forces, a policy critics call “pay for slay.” Israel says the payments reward terrorism and incentivize further attacks; the PA says they are social welfare benefits, even as the withheld funds have deepened its fiscal crisis and strained its ability to pay public-sector wages.
The Israeli government has also taken steps to help settlers acquire West Bank land and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said, "We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state."
In Deir al-Balah, which has suffered less damage from Israel's assault since 2023 than other Gazan cities, banners bearing candidate lists hang from buildings. Some voting will take place in tents and the process will end two hours early due to electricity constraints.
The Palestinian election committee cited widespread destruction among the reasons voting could not be held across the rest of Gaza, more than half of which is controlled by Israel, with the rest under Hamas rule.
Hamas boycotts vote but some candidates are aligned
Some Palestinian factions are boycotting the elections in protest at the Palestinian Authority's request that candidates back its agreements, which include recognition of the state of Israel.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, has not formally nominated any candidates but one list in the Deir al-Balah election is widely viewed by residents and analysts as aligned with it.
Analysts say the performance of candidates linked to the terrorist group could gauge its popularity. Most candidates, including in the West Bank, are running under Fatah, the main political movement behind the Palestinian Authority, or as independents.
Hamas has said it would respect the results, and Palestinian sources told Reuters ahead of the vote that the group's civil policemen would be deployed to safeguard polling stations in Gaza.
The Palestinian Central Elections Committee said more than one million Palestinians, including 70,000 in Gaza, are eligible to vote, with results expected late on Saturday or on Sunday.