After 2 decades, Palestinians prepare to vote for new political leadership. But will it change anything?
Hamas political chief Khalil al-Hayya, third from right, meets with representatives of Palestinian factions in Cairo.
Qassam Muaddi writes in Mondoweiss on 27 August 2026 :
Palestinian factions that have spent two decades in bitter — and at times violent — division are joining forces ahead of elections announced for November, forming the broadest political coalition seen in the occupied territories in years.
Following a series of talks in Cairo, the “Alliance of National Forces” was formed with the specific objective of running together in the next Palestinian legislative elections. This coalition includes Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Democratic Reform Current (a dissident Fatah current led by the UAE-based former Fatah Gaza leader, Mohammad Dahlan), the National Democratic Forum (another dissident Fatah current led by Yasser Arafat’s nephew, Nasser Al-Qudwah), and the Popular Resistance Committees (a Gaza-based organization founded by former Fatah member Jamal Abu Samhadana in 2001).
Palestinian left-wing factions, namely the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, are expected to announce in the coming days whether they will join.
The alliance, set in motion by a decree from Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas calling for new elections in late November, disrupts two decades of political stagnation that have weakened Palestinian political leverage at a moment of accelerating Israeli annexation.