Palestinians Vote in First Gaza Local Election Since 2006 as Hamas Excluded but Alleged Allies Run Slate in Deir al-Balah

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah voted in local elections on Saturday, marking the first poll of any kind held in Gaza since 2006.

The elections took place across the West Bank and in Deir al-Balah, where makeshift polling stations were constructed to facilitate voting. According to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission, more than a million voters across the Palestinian territories were eligible to participate, including approximately 70,000 in Deir al-Balah, where 12 polling stations were scheduled to operate.

Hamas was not permitted to field candidates in the elections, and several other factions boycotted the vote due to a requirement that candidates recognize the authority of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA) governing parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control. Fatah, the faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas and dominant within the PLO, was violently expelled from Gaza following the last elections there in 2006, which Hamas won, leading to an ongoing power struggle between the two groups.

Despite Hamas’s absence from the ballot, Reuters reported that one slate of candidates in Deir al-Balah was widely perceived as being aligned with the group. The central city was selected as the sole location for elections in Gaza because it sustained less damage during the Israel-Hamas war compared to other areas. A fragile ceasefire remains in place as part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which halted hostilities in October of the previous year.

Hamas continues to operate in parts of Gaza where Israeli forces have withdrawn, and Reuters reported that its police force participated in security operations around the polling stations in Deir al-Balah. Results from the elections are expected to be released late on Saturday or on Sunday.