Palestine at a Moment of Truth: From Political Exclusivity, Election Obstruction and the Failure of Factional Dialogues to Restoring the Popular Will and Rebuilding the Political System

Date: 13 November 2026

Press Release

Palestine at a Moment of Truth: From Political Exclusivity, Election Obstruction and the Failure of Factional Dialogues to Restoring the Popular Will and Rebuilding the Political System

A Strategic and Forward-Looking Position Paper

Dr. Salah Abd Alati

The Palestinian cause stands at a historic moment whose significance extends beyond the scale of the Israeli aggression and its humanitarian and political consequences, exposing a profound structural crisis within the national project and the Palestinian political system, its representative and institutional legitimacy, and its ability to unify decision-making, lead the struggle, and protect national rights. While Israel’s colonial project continues to intensify, seeking control over land, forced displacement, the fragmentation of Palestinian geography, and the targeting of Palestinian identity and national representation, the state of division, political exclusivity, institutional paralysis, and election obstruction persists. Consequently, the political system’s ability to produce unified leadership and a national strategy capable of responding to the scale of these challenges continues to deteriorate.

The paper argues that the crisis can no longer be reduced to the division between Fatah and Hamas, disagreements over the formation of governments and the distribution of positions, or the failure of factional dialogues. Rather, it has become a crisis in the very structure of the political system and the rules governing the production of legitimacy, representation, decision-making, and accountability, as well as the nature of the relationship between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority, the factions, and society. Accordingly, changing individuals, redistributing positions, or reaching new understandings among existing political forces will not be sufficient unless accompanied by a transformation of the political system’s rules and the re-establishment of its institutions and functions on the basis of popular will, democratic partnership, pluralism, and accountability.

The paper identifies a central paradox in the Palestinian situation: dependence on external developments and waiting for the outcomes of Israeli and American elections, as well as regional and international changes, while Palestinian elections remain suspended and renewed popular authorization is absent. The problem does not lie in monitoring international developments, but rather in turning them into a substitute for national action and making the future of the Palestinian cause dependent on the choices of others, without possessing an independent Palestinian strategy capable of influencing events and making use of opportunities for international solidarity and political, legal, and diplomatic pressure. The paper therefore calls for a transition from a policy of waiting to one of initiative, and from adapting to imposed realities to developing the tools necessary to influence them.

In confronting Israel’s colonial project, which targets the West Bank and Jerusalem through settlement expansion, annexation, and displacement, the Gaza Strip through destruction, siege, and the reshaping of its political and administrative reality, and Palestinian refugees and UNRWA through efforts to undermine the right of return and national representation, the paper stresses that these threats cannot be confronted without unity of will, decision-making, and the national programme. It further emphasizes that saving Gaza, recovery, and reconstruction must not become a gateway to the confiscation of political agency, the entrenchment of separation between Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, or the establishment of parallel political and judicial authorities. Any transitional administration in the Strip must have a clearly defined mandate, duration, and powers, and must be linked to a national and legal frame of reference and a comprehensive process for reunifying institutions and renewing legitimacy. It should serve as a bridge towards restoring unity, not as a means of perpetuating separation or external tutelage.

The paper places the crisis of legitimacy, political exclusivity, and election obstruction at the heart of its analysis, considering them interconnected manifestations of the political system’s crisis. The continued absence of elections since 2006, the suspension of the 2021 electoral process, and the change in the announced date of the legislative elections from 28 November 2026 to the date of simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on 11 September 2027 raise fundamental questions about political will and the seriousness of efforts to renew legitimacy. The paper affirms that elections are an inherent right of the Palestinian people, not a grant bestowed by the leadership or a matter subject to factional bargaining. National dialogue must not become a condition for obstructing elections or a substitute for popular authorization. What is required is the holding of presidential, legislative, and Palestinian National Council elections as soon as possible, with direct voting as the primary mechanism, while developing electronic registration and voting methods or mixed systems where necessary, subject to legal, technical, and supervisory safeguards that guarantee integrity, transparency, ballot secrecy, and equal opportunities.

The paper considers the Cairo Dialogue a test of the Palestinian forces’ ability to move from managing division towards re-establishing the political system. Its success should not be measured by holding meetings or issuing statements, but by producing clear and binding commitments, timetables, mechanisms for follow-up and accountability, and outcomes that address the roots of the crisis. It must also broaden participation to include independent figures, national personalities, professionals, youth, women, trade unions, civil society organizations, and Palestinians in the diaspora. Dialogue is a means of facilitating democratic transition and organizing political differences; it is not an end in itself or a privilege for existing political forces that allows them to monopolize decisions concerning the people’s future.

The paper also calls for a critical and responsible national review of the Palestinian experience, particularly the strategic decisions taken following 7 October 2023, including their contexts, decision-making mechanisms, risk assessments, and consequences. This review should also address the Oslo experience, the performance of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, resource management, public freedoms, and negotiations. The paper stresses that such a review does not mean justifying the crimes of the occupation or shifting legal and political responsibility away from it. Nor does it imply treating all parties as equally responsible. Rather, it should identify responsibilities according to the nature of decisions, the powers and positions of those involved, and their ability to change the course of events. It must be grounded in truth, accountability, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence, بعيد from revenge or impunity.

In light of the political deadlock and declining public confidence in existing structures, the paper proposes launching the National Current as an independent political and organizational initiative that creates space for the restoration of political action and the building of a national force capable of advancing the process of re-establishment. The National Current is not proposed as a new faction, a personal political project, or a temporary electoral framework. Nor is it intended to replace Fatah or contradict efforts to reform it and restore its unity, national role, and historical contribution. Rather, it is an independent framework open to independent figures, professionals, democratic and reformist forces, youth, women, trade unionists, academics, and community actors. It seeks to establish relationships based on partnership, democratic competition, and respect for pluralism.

However, launching the National Current does not in itself guarantee change. Its credibility will depend on its political, organizational, and financial independence; the clarity of its programme and charter; its adoption of collective leadership, rotation of leadership, transparency, and accountability; the meaningful participation of youth, women, and professionals; and its ability to present a different model of democratic practice and engagement with people’s concerns.

The paper also distinguishes between the National Current, as an independent political and organizational initiative, and the Historical Bloc for Change, as a broader social, political, and intellectual alliance that would gradually emerge through voluntary partnership among national and democratic forces, independent figures, trade unions, universities, civil society organizations, the productive private sector, youth and women’s initiatives, local authorities, and the Palestinian diaspora. The bloc is broader than the Current and must not be reduced to it or turned into a front for monopolizing representation or expanding organizational influence.

The paper defines the features of an alternative national project through a new Palestinian social contract that restores the people’s position as the source of authority and legitimacy, and guarantees the unity of the people, land, institutions, and decision-making; political pluralism; democratic rotation of power; judicial independence; the rule of law; social justice; equality; public freedoms; and accountability. Reforming and rebuilding the PLO on the basis of democratic and inclusive representation of Palestinians at home and in the diaspora occupies a central position in this project. This should proceed alongside redefining the function of the Palestinian Authority as an instrument of governance and administration within the framework of the national project, rather than as a substitute for the PLO or the Palestinian national liberation movement.

The paper emphasizes that elections, despite their central importance, are not sufficient on their own to re-establish the political system. Elections renew popular authorization; institutional reform prevents the reproduction of political exclusivity; rebuilding the PLO ensures comprehensive national representation; unifying institutions restores the unity of the system and decision-making; the national programme and unified strategy determine the direction and priorities of action; and democratic partnership and accountability prevent the monopolization of power and representation. Without integrating these elements, elections may simply renew the faces within the same crisis-ridden structure.

The paper further stresses the need to formulate a unified national programme and strategy of struggle that connects national liberation with protecting society and building institutions. Such a strategy must define the objectives of confronting occupation, settlement expansion, annexation, and forced displacement; unify political, diplomatic, legal, and popular action; make use of international judicial processes, accountability mechanisms, and universal jurisdiction; and transform international solidarity into pressure and practical measures. These should include halting the transfer of weapons used in violations and holding companies involved in settlement activity and supporting the occupation system accountable. This requires developing research and planning institutions, producing knowledge and policy assessments, and linking decisions to evidence, data, indicators, and mechanisms for evaluation and follow-up.

The paper links the success of this re-establishment process to the ability of the new political system to restore its relationship with society and involve youth, women, the diaspora, and professionals in decision-making positions; end tokenistic representation and factional quota-sharing; and guarantee public freedoms, judicial independence, transitional justice, and civil peace. Rebuilding institutions cannot be separated from addressing the consequences of division and violations, protecting rights, combating corruption, providing reparation, strengthening community participation, and linking recovery and reconstruction to justice, transparency, and public oversight.

In looking ahead, the paper identifies four overlapping scenarios: the continuation of crisis management and the gradual erosion of the political system; the imposition of Israeli realities and the reshaping of Palestinian geography and representation; the emergence of external arrangements and limited transitional administration without addressing the roots of the legitimacy crisis; or the launch of a national democratic process to re-establish the political system and build the Historical Bloc for Change. The paper considers that the first three scenarios are associated with the risks of continued division, the obstruction of popular will, and the absence of unified leadership. The fourth scenario, by contrast, requires building an organized and independent political and social force capable of bringing together national energies and advancing a comprehensive democratic process, rather than merely announcing initiatives or understandings.

The paper concludes that the essence of the Palestinian predicament is no longer simply the absence of consensus among political forces. It is the absence of a political system with renewed legitimacy, capable of representing the people and leading their national project. Therefore, the way forward does not lie in replacing one leadership with another or one faction with another, nor in recycling dialogues and understandings. It lies in re-establishing the political system and the national movement on the basis of popular will, partnership, accountability, and unity of representation and decision-making.

The formula for re-establishment rests on six integrated pillars: renewing popular legitimacy; reforming the PLO; redefining the function of the Palestinian Authority; unifying institutions and decision-making; developing the national programme and strategy; and guaranteeing democratic partnership and accountability.

There can be no rescue of the future through the tools of the past; no revival of the national project without re-establishing its political system; no confrontation of the colonial project without unity of will and decision-making; and no genuine change without an organized national and social force that makes the people the source of legitimacy, the centre of action, and the holders of decision-making power.

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