Fatah, Hamas Set Up Separate Lists for Legislative Elections

Palestinian member of the Central Elections Commission displays an information leaflet on elections (File photo: AFP)
Palestinian member of the Central Elections Commission displays an information leaflet on elections (File photo: AFP)
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Fatah, Hamas Set Up Separate Lists for Legislative Elections

Palestinian member of the Central Elections Commission displays an information leaflet on elections (File photo: AFP)
Palestinian member of the Central Elections Commission displays an information leaflet on elections (File photo: AFP)

Fatah and Hamas will run in the upcoming legislative elections with two separate lists, contrary to previous reports.

Fatah’s Central Committee will formally submit its final list for the legislative elections to the Central Elections Commission.

The Central Committee held a meeting, chaired by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to approve the full list for the elections set for May.

Committee member Abbas Zaki said that the movement will officially register its electoral list on Tuesday, pointing out that it includes independents, businessmen, and prominent figures.

The list was approved after the movement opened candidacy to all those wishing to run for office. Current and former officials including prisoners, members of municipalities, and security men were nominated, and the committee later deliberated to choose the required number of candidates.

Hamas also completed its list, chaired by Politburo member Khalil al-Hayya. The movement is supposed to submit the names within two days to the elections commission.

Hamas chose various government officials, academics, and independents, including youth and women.

The candidacy ends on Wednesday and more lists are expected to be presented, including the list of Nasser al-Qudwa, who was dismissed from Fatah, the list of former prime minister Salam Fayyad, and the list of Mohammad Dahlan’s movement, who will not be running for elections.

The winning lists will establish an unprecedented legislative council which will form a growing opposition to the Palestinian leadership.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) Bassam Al-Salihi announced on Sunday his party's failure to unite the Palestinian left-wing,

Salihi stressed in a statement that despite the faltering efforts, the movement gained more public support, noting that the party is ready to cooperate with any democratic or left-wing parties aiming to achieve unity.

The Palestinian President has signed a decree setting legislative elections for May 22 and a presidential vote on July 31. The elections of the National Council will be held on August 31.

However, the issue of allowing Palestinians living in Jerusalem to participate in the elections remains unresolved, although factions and independents have already chosen candidates from the city.

The regional director of the Central Elections Commission in Gaza, Jamil al-Khalidi, said that there is pressure on the Israeli government to facilitate the electoral process in occupied Jerusalem.

He told a local station that the commission has other options if the occupation refuses to hold elections in the city.

Earlier, the commissions said Palestinians will be able to cast votes at the six post offices available in Jerusalem.

Jerusalemites participated in the 2005 presidential elections and 2006 legislative elections, after which Israel prevented them from participating in polls.



Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill 9, Including 2 Children

A Palestinian boy plays among the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 04 October 2024. (EPA)
A Palestinian boy plays among the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 04 October 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill 9, Including 2 Children

A Palestinian boy plays among the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 04 October 2024. (EPA)
A Palestinian boy plays among the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 04 October 2024. (EPA)

Palestinian medical officials said Israeli strikes in northern and central Gaza early Saturday have killed at least nine people, including two children.

One strike hit a group of people in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, killing at least five people, including two children, according to the Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency service.

Another strike hit a house in the northern part of Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least four people, the Awda hospital said. The strike also left a number of wounded people, it said.

The Israeli military did not have any immediate comment on the strikes, but has long accused Hamas of operating from within civilian areas.

Earlier, the army warned residents in parts of central Gaza to evacuate, saying its forces will soon operate there in response to Palestinian fighters.  

The warnings cover areas along a strategic corridor in central Gaza, which was at the heart of obstacles to a ceasefire deal earlier this summer.  

The military warned Palestinians in areas of Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps, located along the Netzarim corridor, to evacuate to the area the military designated a humanitarian zone, an area called Muwasi along Gaza’s shore.  

It’s unclear how many Palestinians are currently living in this area, parts of which were evacuated previously.  

Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to heavily destroyed areas of Gaza where they had fought earlier battles against Hamas and other fighters since the start of war one year ago.  

The vast majority of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people has been displaced in the war, often multiple times, and hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps.  

Others have remained in their homes despite being ordered to leave, saying nowhere in the isolated coastal territory feels safe.  

At least 41,825 Palestinians have been killed and 96,910 wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, the enclave's health authorities said on Saturday.