Hamas and Islamic Jihad have agreed with the faction led by Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official driven out of Gaza in 2007 and now an adviser to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, to support a joint list in Palestinian parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 November, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Islamic Jihad deputy secretary-general Mohammed al-Hindi confirmed the agreement in an interview with AP in Istanbul. He said the coalition would back “a unified national list”, potentially made up of independent figures rather than members of the participating factions.
The agreement brings together longtime rivals. Dahlan once headed Fatah security forces in Gaza, which cracked down on Hamas. When Hamas seized control of the enclave in 2007, Fatah forces and Dahlan were driven out.
From Gaza to Abu Dhabi
After falling out with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Dahlan was expelled from Fatah and later settled in the United Arab Emirates, where he became an adviser to the country’s ruler.
AP notes that Dahlan has extensive contacts with US and Israeli officials and describes the UAE as Israel’s closest ally in the Middle East. Abu Dhabi was a driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel.
Dahlan and Hamas had already begun moving closer. In August, he met senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya in Cairo. Hamas said the talks covered ways to “end the monopolization of national decision-making” and develop a broader Palestinian political framework.
Dimitri Diliani, spokesman for Dahlan’s Reformist Democratic Faction, stopped short of describing the arrangement as a formal alliance but confirmed that several factions were working on a common list.
A coalition aimed at challenging Abbas’ Fatah
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Dahlan’s faction are united in their opposition to the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah.
Abbas, 90, has led the Palestinian Authority since 2005, while his presidential mandate expired in 2009. He has announced parliamentary elections for 28 November in Gaza and the West Bank, the first such vote in two decades.
Hamas won the last parliamentary elections in 2006. Tensions with Fatah culminated in Hamas taking control of Gaza the following year. Abbas later announced elections for 2021 but postponed them.
Hamas remains present in Gaza
The electoral agreement comes nearly three years after the war triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Gaza is in ruins, most of its population has been displaced and more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Despite Israel’s military campaign, Hamas still controls parts of the enclave.
The group is therefore preparing to participate in future Palestinian institutions while negotiations over the ceasefire and the disarmament of armed groups continue. Islamic Jihad said it would not field candidates directly but would support the joint list.