Report: Palestinian parliamentary election expected to be postponed

The pan-Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reports that the Palestinian parliamentary election, scheduled for November 28, are expected to be postponed.

According to the newspaper, an announcement is expected in the coming week, before the October 13 deadline for submitting electoral lists.

The report says that a decree issued by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ordering the postponement will likely also set a new date for the election.

According to the report, the postponement comes amid meetings held in Cairo in recent days between representatives of various Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The parties reportedly agreed during the meetings that the election should be postponed. A source who spoke to the newspaper said the delay would provide a better opportunity for potential reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.

Notably, Hamas recently announced that it could run in the election as part of a joint bloc with supporters of Mohammed Dahlan, a longtime rival of Abbas who fled the Palestinian territories 15 years ago. The move raised the possibility that Abbas would bar Hamas from participating in the election, as he did in the local elections held several months ago.