Hamas leader rejects Israeli election impact and calls for unity ahead of scheduled Palestinian vote

Rejection of Israeli electoral change

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya stated that Israel's upcoming parliamentary election on 27 October 2026 will bring no meaningful change for Palestinians regardless of the winner. In an interview broadcast on Saturday, 26 September, on the Qatari television network Al Araby, al-Hayya stated that Palestinians have endured ongoing hardship under every Israeli administration and political faction. He warned that Israeli candidates are using the war in Gaza and Palestinian casualties to fuel their domestic campaigns. Al-Hayya stated that the leadership in Gaza expects continuity in Israeli policy across the political spectrum.

Whether this or that person comes to power, or this party or another, our people have suffered at the hands of all Israeli parties.

He stated that the movement strictly opposes using the ongoing wartime situation as political leverage during the election campaign.

We categorically refuse that the blood, suffering, and cause of the Palestinians serve as fuel for these elections.

Gaza conflict and Israeli political context

The parliamentary election scheduled for 27 October 2026 will be the first national vote in Israel since the 7 October 2023 attack led by Hamas, in which 1,221 people were killed. The subsequent military operations conducted by Israel across the Gaza Strip have resulted in more than 73,000 Palestinian deaths, based on records compiled by the Gaza Ministry of Health and considered reliable by the United Nations. Incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a tight race to retain power in the upcoming contest. Netanyahu has publicly committed to keeping Israeli military forces deployed inside Gaza rather than agreeing to a pullout. The prime minister also rejected a peace proposal sponsored by the United States that Hamas had already accepted, citing doubts over whether the Islamist movement has any genuine intention to disarm.

Palestinian Authority elections and unity talks

Al-Hayya also addressed the parliamentary elections scheduled by the Palestinian Authority for 28 November 2026. If the voting proceeds as planned, it will mark the first Palestinian legislative election held in 20 years. The last Palestinian legislative contest took place in 2006, when Hamas won a parliamentary majority, defeating the Fatah movement led by Mahmoud Abbas, which had previously dominated Palestinian politics. Abbas, now 90 years old, has governed from the occupied West Bank by presidential decree since 2007. The Palestinian legislative council has not convened since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip that same year. Al-Hayya expressed willingness to negotiate directly with Abbas to build institutional consensus.

We are ready to sit down with President Abbas to lay the foundations of a national program and achieve genuine unity.

Al-Hayya affirmed that Hamas is prepared to engage in talks with Abbas to establish a common political foundation and achieve national unity. He maintained that any delay in holding the Palestinian ballot should be used to restructure internal political arrangements.

If the Palestinian elections are postponed, that should serve as an entry point to put the Palestinian house in order.