Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Mahmoud Abbas Being Urged To Cancel Elections for Fear of Hamas Landslide: Report

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is reportedly being urged to cancel upcoming elections in the West Bank and Gaza for fear that his Fatah party will be trounced in them.

Citing Channel 2 television, the Times of Israel reported Friday that Fatah officials are worried the party’s more militant rival, the terrorist group Hamas, could win in a landslide in municipal elections on Oct. 8.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007.

Losing in October would mean “the destruction” of Fatah, officials reportedly told Abbas.

The Channel 2 report also said that members of the PA security forces are trying to pressure some Hamas candidates in the West Bank into dropping out of the race.

However, unnamed Fatah officials told the Times of Israel the party has a “reasonable chance of winning.”

Local opinion polls indicate that Hamas, which enjoys strong support in Gaza, will do well in the upcoming elections both in the West Bank and Gaza.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.