Palestinians in a Gaza city will vote for the first time in 20 years as they take part in a Saturday election featuring some pro-Hamas candidates.
Residents of Deir al-Balah, one of the few Gaza Strip cities not under the control of the Israeli Defense Force, will cast their ballots in Palestinian Authority municipal elections. The war-torn city of 75,000 is still recovering from years of conflict and destruction that has unfolded since the Israeli ground invasion following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
Palestinian elections have been repeatedly delayed since 2006 due to political divisions between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, as well as ongoing security concerns and war in the region.
The Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC), the governing body overseeing elections across its territory, views the forthcoming election as a pivotal milestone, Al Jazeera reported.
Hamas has not fielded or explicitly endorsed any candidate in Saturday’s contests, according to Reuters. However, one of the four candidate lists contesting the election includes several candidates widely regarded as friendly to the radical Islamic terrorist organization.
Elections will also take place across the Palestinian territory in the West Bank, in 183 local municipalities.
“For the first time in my life, in 20 years, I will have this feeling. I have been hearing about elections since I was born but because of the circumstances no elections are done,” Gazan resident Al-Bardini told Reuters.
Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 after weeks of violent clashes with forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority, following its victory in Palestinian legislative elections in 2006.
Since Hamas came to power in the area, the terrorist group appointed mayors and municipal council members across the territory, according to the New York Times.
The vote comes as President Donald Trump pushes for a resolution in Gaza amid his founding of the “Board of Peace,” which plans to oversee a transition Palestinian technocratic committee. Trump chairs the group which includes member countries such as Argentina, Hungary, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
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