Daoud Kuttab

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last month pledged a series of political reforms, including holding general presidential and parliamentary elections one year after the Gaza ceasefire agreement came into effect. These commitments were made in a letter to the French-Saudi conveners of the high-level conference at the UN, which led to many important countries recognizing the state of Palestine.

If this commitment holds now that a ceasefire has been reached, Palestinians could be heading to the polls in October 2026 — a critical moment for the future of the Palestinian national movement and its political institutions. Elections will be held to choose both a president and the Palestinian Legislative Council. It is also possible that elections and, in some areas, appointments will take place to fill the remaining seats of the Palestine National Council, the top legislative body for all 14.3 million Palestinians around the world.

Yet, major questions remain. Will the Islamist movement Hamas participate directly in the elections? The answer is far from certain. Participation, according to the public pledge made by Abbas, requires adherence to the international commitments previously signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization, which include political and social agreements recognizing Israel and guaranteeing the rights of women and children. These obligations also encompass Palestine’s 2018 accession to the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at abolishing the death........

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