Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has announced parliamentary elections for 28 November in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza—the first in 20 years—after the 2006 Hamas victory and subsequent split; the move coincides with the Trump peace plan’s efforts to disempower Hamas and restore Abbas’s democratic credibility.

Exiled former Gaza security chief Mohammed Dahlan, expelled from Fatah in 2011 and now a UAE adviser, has re-entered the arena through his Democratic Reformist Current, which formed an electoral coalition with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (with possible further joins), positioning himself as a mediator with channels to Egypt, the UAE, Washington and Israeli security figures.

Dahlan advocates a “national partnership” of elections plus a new social contract rather than exclusive PA control; if successful, the elections could serve as the legitimate mechanism for the Board of Peace to hand Gaza to a reformed Palestinian authority uniting the territories, with Dahlan potentially central to bridging Hamas’s exit, reconstruction and a reconstituted Palestinian government.

On July 9, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that parliamentary elections would be held on November 28 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.  If they indeed take place, they will be the first for 20 years.

The last, in 2006, were won by Hamas​.  They were followed by a violent power struggle with Fatah, culminating in Hamas​ gaining control of Gaza in 2007.  ​Ever since, the continuing popularity of Hamas with the Palestinian people has inhibited Abbas, fearful of losing power, from holding elections.  Perhaps it is the Trump peace plan for Gaza, currently being implemented by the Board of Peace and committed to disempowering Hamas, that has encouraged Abbas to try to regain some democratic credibility ​by approving new elections.

In any event, the announcement has brought Mohammed Dahlan once again to the forefront of the Palestinian political arena.

Dahlan was born in Khan Younis refugee camp in........

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