Chicago – April 26, 2026
Palestinians voted on Saturday in the first elections held in part of Gaza in more than two decades, while tens of thousands of Palestinians cast ballots in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The vote in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah was a largely symbolic “pilot” election, officials said, part of the Palestinian Authority’s effort to politically link Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, unpopular in the West Bank and frozen out of U.S.-led postwar plans for ending Hamas rule in Gaza, hopes to establish an independent state in both territories.
Hamas did not field candidates in Deir al-Balah, which was damaged by airstrikes but spared an Israeli ground invasion in more than two years of war. More than 70,000 people were eligible to vote for the municipal government.
Though turnout was low, voters said they were driven to the polls amid a near-total absence of public services.
