Local elections have been held in the occupied West Bank and in one Gazan city, though Hamas and other groups are not taking part.
Palestinians voted in local elections on April 25, 2026, in the West Bank and in Deir al-Balah, a central city in Gaza, marking the first such vote in Gaza since 2006 and the first in the West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The elections were held for municipal and village councils, with Fatah, the faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas, dominating the ballot, while Hamas and other factions boycotted due to requirements recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole representative of Palestinians.
Turnout was 53.44% in the West Bank and 22.7% in Deir al-Balah, reflecting challenges in Gaza, where infrastructure remains devastated after years of war. The vote was seen as a symbolic effort by the Palestinian Authority to reassert political unity between Gaza and the West Bank, though many viewed it as largely ceremonial amid ongoing occupation, governance crises, and humanitarian hardship. The European Union and other international actors welcomed the elections as a step toward democratic reform.
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