AI-written summary of reporting by The Jerusalem Post. No human editor reviewed this. AI can misread or omit facts — read the original, linked below.
ABSTRACT

Hamas has said it intends to participate in Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for November 28 as part of a broad national coalition, according to The Jerusalem Post, a development the outlet's columnist Herb Keinon argues echoes tensions that preceded the January 2006 Palestinian election in which Hamas won a parliamentary majority.

The Jerusalem Post

Hamas plans to run in Palestinian November election, reviving 2006 participation debate

Aug 13, 2026, 3:53 PM

Hamas has said it intends to participate in Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for November 28 as part of a broad national coalition, according to The Jerusalem Post, a development the outlet's columnist Herb Keinon argues echoes tensions that preceded the January 2006 Palestinian election in which Hamas won a parliamentary majority.

Context

In the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council election, Hamas ran under the party name 'Change and Reform' and received 44.5% of the popular vote against Fatah's 41.4%. Because of the electoral system and divisions within Fatah, that margin translated into 74 of 132 seats for Hamas, compared with 45 for Fatah.

Before that vote, Israel argued that permitting an armed organization committed to Israel's destruction to contest elections was fundamentally flawed. The Bush administration acknowledged what it called a 'fundamental contradiction' in Hamas participating in democratic politics while remaining armed, but did not require Hamas to resolve that contradiction before standing for election. Then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later acknowledged the US had failed to anticipate the magnitude of Hamas's victory.

In June 2007, roughly a year after the election, Hamas forcibly expelled Fatah and the Palestinian Authority from Gaza. The column characterizes subsequent history as 'ugly' and 'murder-strewn.'

The most recent comprehensive Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll, conducted in October 2025, found that 53% of Palestinians said Hamas had been right to launch the October 7 attack, and that among those who said they would vote, Hamas led Fatah 29% to 20%, according to the column.

Nikolay Mladenov, described as director-general of the Trump-led Board of Peace, stated in a recent interview with Channel 12's Amit Segal that both Israelis and people in Gaza 'have one strong shared interest, and that is to get out of this horrible cycle of violence that has cost so many lives and caused so much destruction on both sides.' The column frames that statement as reflecting a familiar but contested formulation about shared interests in coexistence.

All Perspectives
Columnist Herb Keinon (Jerusalem Post): Keinon argues that Hamas's stated intention to contest the November 28 election recalls the 2006 episode and that the lesson is 'simple: Never again allow Hamas to take part in an election; never again let it play simultaneously with ballots and bullets.' He contends that a Hamas victory would entrench its control not only in Gaza but also in Judea and Samaria, and characterizes as 'hollow, wishful thinking' the idea that both sides equally want coexistence at this point in history.
Nikolay Mladenov, director-general of the Board of Peace: Mladenov stated that Israelis and people in Gaza 'have one strong shared interest, and that is to get out of this horrible cycle of violence that has cost so many lives and caused so much destruction on both sides.'
Bush administration (historical position, 2005–2006): Then-National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley declared in October 2005: 'Only when Palestinians are able freely to express themselves through ballots rather than bombs will we be able to get on the road to security for Israel.' The administration acknowledged a 'fundamental contradiction' in Hamas participating while armed but did not make disarmament a precondition for standing in the election.
Israel (historical position, 2005–2006): Israel argued that allowing an armed terrorist organization committed to its destruction to participate in an election was a deeply flawed idea, opposing Hamas's inclusion before the 2006 vote.
Position not represented in the source reporting: Hamas; Palestinian Authority/Fatah.
Gaps & Unknowns
  • The source does not state what specific electoral format or rules would govern the planned November 28 election.
  • The source does not state which other parties or factions would form the broad national coalition Hamas reportedly intends to join.
  • The source does not include any direct response or stated position from Hamas regarding the upcoming election or its platform.
  • The source does not include any stated position from the Palestinian Authority or Fatah on Hamas's announced intention to participate.
  • The source does not state whether any government or international body has formally objected to or endorsed Hamas's participation in the November 28 election.
  • The source does not provide the sample size, methodology, or margin of error for the October 2025 Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll cited.
Sources & Further Reading
  1. The Jerusalem Post — original

Read the original at The Jerusalem Post

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