No Surprise in the West Bank: Abbas Allies Dominate Local Elections Again

The results were predictable before a single vote was counted. Abbas-allied candidates have once again dominated West Bank local polls, sweeping through municipalities in a political landscape that many Palestinians and outside observers have long stopped calling a fair democratic exercise . The world watches, but few are surprised.

What makes these results particularly hard to accept at face value is the context surrounding them. In the months leading up to the elections, Hamas had been gaining significant popularity across both Gaza and the West Bank, with grassroots support visibly growing among a frustrated and disillusioned population . Yet when the results came in, Abbas's Fatah-aligned candidates dominated overwhelmingly. The math, for many, simply does not add up.

Then there is the question of opposition. There was none, at least not in any meaningful sense. No credible rival leadership was allowed to genuinely challenge Fatah's grip. A democracy without real opposition is not a democracy; it is a performance.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground grows darker. Israeli settler violence across the West Bank has escalated sharply, with Palestinian villages facing raids, property destruction, and attacks that often go unpunished. Benjamin Netanyahu continues to openly oppose Palestinian statehood , making his position clear both domestically and on the international stage, effectively burying any remaining pretense of a two-state solution being on the table. The illegal settlement expansion continues uninterrupted, swallowing land that Palestinians were told would one day be their state.

Mahmoud Abbas, now deep into his 80s and technically years past the end of his elected term , continues to hold power with the firm backing of both the United States and Israel , a fact that is no longer a quiet understanding but an open reality acknowledged across the region. Many Palestinians openly refer to him as a political puppet , kept in place because he is useful to foreign interests, not because he represents his own people.

Official figures reported a preliminary overall turnout of 53.4% , with a mere 22.7% in Deir al-Balah in Gaza and with candidates required to accept the PLO program , effectively sidelining Hamas and other factions before a single ballot was cast.

These local polls change nothing on the ground. No new voices, no new direction, no genuine mandate . Just the same result, dressed up as democracy, while Palestinians live under occupation, settler violence, and a leadership that answers to everyone except its own people.