Palestinian president calls first legislative elections in nearly two decades after Hamas Gaza governance shift

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed a decree calling legislative elections for 28 November, in what would be the first such vote in nearly two decades. The announcement comes days after Hamas said it was dissolving the body that had governed Gaza for almost 20 years and handing civil administration to a committee. The move marks a notable political shift in the Palestinian territories, where Gaza has been run separately from the West Bank since 2007.

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According to the supplied report, the decree was signed on Thursday, 9 July, and the Hamas announcement came on Monday, 6 July. The Gaza governance change is intended to ease the suffering caused by the war and to remove what Hamas described as pretexts for Israeli interference in the territory. The report also says the planned committee will be technocratic in nature and that a body called the National Committee for Gaza Administration, created by the Council of Peace, is expected to take over civil functions and control weapons in circulation in the territory.

The development comes against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire that began in October 2025. The report says Israeli strikes killed five people on Monday, and that both sides have accused each other of violating the agreement. It also notes that Mohammed al-Farra, the head of the Hamas-linked government, resigned as part of the transition away from direct Hamas administration.

These details suggest the political announcement is unfolding alongside continuing security tensions on the ground. The timing matters because any legislative election would be the first of its kind in nearly 20 years and could reshape Palestinian political representation. It also comes at a moment when governance in Gaza is being reconsidered after years of separation between Hamas-run institutions in the enclave and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

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The planned transfer to a civil committee may affect how aid, reconstruction and security are managed if it is implemented as described. The report places the current shift in a longer context that began in 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza after clashes with Fatah, the party associated with Abbas. Since then, Gaza has remained under Hamas administration while the Palestinian Authority has continued to operate from the West Bank.

That division has been one of the central political fractures in Palestinian politics and has complicated efforts to unify institutions or hold nationwide elections. What remains unclear is how the election decree will be implemented, whether voting can proceed on the stated date, and how the Gaza transition committee will function in practice. The report does not say what electoral arrangements will be used or how all factions will respond.

The next developments to watch are whether the ceasefire holds, whether the civil handover in Gaza advances, and whether the election call leads to a broader political process.

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