Speaking during an address to his party congress in Ramallah, Abbas reaffirmed commitments to institutional reform but stopped short of announcing a timetable for any vote.

“We renew our full commitment to continuing work on implementing all the reform measures we pledged,” Abbas said. “We are ready to hold presidential and legislative elections.”The remarks come amid increasing pressure from the United States, the European Union and several Arab governments for the Palestinian leadership to modernize institutions, address corruption allegations and restore political credibility.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank, has faced growing criticism from Palestinians over accusations of political stagnation, weak governance and declining public trust.

No presidential election has been held since 2005, when Abbas was elected following the death of Yasser Arafat. Parliamentary elections have repeatedly been postponed amid deep divisions between Abbas’ Fatah movement and rival faction Hamas.

International calls for reform have intensified alongside wider diplomatic discussions over the future governance of Palestinian territories amid continuing regional instability and the conflict in Gaza Strip.

Speaking during an address to his party congress in Ramallah, Abbas reaffirmed commitments to institutional reform but stopped short of announcing a timetable for any vote.“We renew our full commitment to continuing work on implementing all the reform measures we pledged,” Abbas said.

“We are ready to hold presidential and legislative elections.”The remarks come amid increasing pressure from the United States, the European Union and several Arab governments for the Palestinian leadership to modernize institutions, address corruption allegations and restore political credibility.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank, has faced growing criticism from Palestinians over accusations of political stagnation, weak governance and declining public trust.

No presidential election has been held since 2005, when Abbas was elected following the death of Yasser Arafat. Parliamentary elections have repeatedly been postponed amid deep divisions between Abbas’ Fatah movement and rival faction Hamas.

International calls for reform have intensified alongside wider diplomatic discussions over the future governance of Palestinian territories amid continuing regional instability and the conflict in Gaza Strip.

Nearly 1.5 million voters were registered across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, while around 70,000 were eligible to vote in Gaza’s Deir El-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m., with voting taking place under the shadow of continued conflict, institutional paralysis, and long-standing frustration over the absence of national elections.

Footage from Al-Bireh in the West Bank and Deir El-Balah in Gaza showed election workers preparing polling centers as residents arrived to cast ballots in what many described as a symbolic rather than transformative process.

Most electoral lists were aligned with President Mahmoud Abbas’s secular-nationalist Fatah movement or were running as independents.There were no lists affiliated with Hamas, which governs much of Gaza and remains Fatah’s principal political rival.In many municipalities, including Ramallah and Nablus, only one list was submitted, resulting in automatic victory without a contested vote.

Where competition existed, Fatah-backed candidates faced independent lists, some led by figures associated with leftist factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.Mahmud Bader, a businessman from Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, said he would vote despite believing the outcome would have little practical effect.

“Whether candidates are independent or partisan, it has no effect and will have no effect or benefit for the city,” he said.“The occupation is the one that rules Tulkarem. It would only be an image shown to the international media — as if we have elections, a state or independence.

”Tulkarem has been under heightened Israeli military pressure, with two adjacent refugee camps remaining under military control for more than a year.In Gaza, the vote in Deir El-Balah marked the first local electoral exercise since Hamas won the 2006 legislative elections and later took control of the enclave in 2007.

Political analysts said the Palestinian Authority’s decision to hold voting only in Deir El-Balah reflected both logistical limits and a cautious test of public sentiment in post-war Gaza.Jamal Al-Fadi, a political scientist at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, said the limited vote served as an “experiment” because there had been no reliable post-war opinion polling.

Deir El-Balah was selected partly because it was one of the few areas in Gaza where much of the population had remained in place and not been displaced during more than two years of war.Farah Shaath, 25, said voting for the first time was emotionally significant despite the extraordinary conditions.

“Although it is unlike any election in the world, it is a confirmation of our continued existence in the Gaza Strip despite everything,” she said.The elections commission said polling staff in Gaza were recruited from civil society groups and that a private security company had been contracted to secure voting centers.

However, a commission source in Gaza said Hamas police insisted on overseeing security around polling stations through unarmed personnel in civilian clothing.

UN coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov praised the organization of the vote, calling it a “credible process” and saying the elections represented an important opportunity for Palestinians to exercise democratic rights during an exceptionally difficult period.

Abbas, now 90, has remained in office for more than two decades without re-election, despite repeated promises of legislative and presidential polls that have yet to materialize.

Saturday’s municipal vote, while limited in scope, reflects both the persistence of Palestinian civic institutions and the deep uncertainty surrounding the future of governance in both Gaza and the West Bank.

The targeted organization, Addameer, a Ramallah-based legal NGO founded in 1991, is widely known for providing legal representation to Palestinian political prisoners and detainees held in Israeli custody. According to U.S. authorities, Addameer maintains “long-standing affiliation” with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular Marxist faction classified as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and Israel.

While Addameer did not issue an immediate response, the move has triggered renewed debate over the politicization of humanitarian work in conflict zones. The U.S. accuses the organization of supporting the military wings of Palestinian groups, including Hamas, under the veil of aid and advocacy.

A History of Tensions

Addameer has long been a point of contention between Israel and international human rights organizations. In 2022, Israeli forces raided its offices, claiming the NGO funneled funds to terror networks. The United Nations strongly criticized the raid, stating that Israel failed to provide “credible evidence” and emphasized that Addameer was engaged in “critical humanitarian, legal, and development work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The NGO collaborates with major rights watchdogs including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and is a member of the World Organization Against Torture. Despite these affiliations, the Israeli government maintains that the group exploits its legal platform to support extremist agendas.

Advocacy and Accusations

The recent sanctions follow a formal request submitted in February by the Zachor Legal Institute, an Israeli-American group that claims to combat antisemitism and terrorism. The letter, signed by 44 additional organizations, urged the U.S. Treasury to act against Addameer. Zachor’s president, Marc Greendorfer, welcomed the decision, stating: “We are very pleased to see the Treasury following up on our request… Foreign actors spreading hate and violence must be stopped.”

The Treasury’s action reportedly relied in part on undisclosed intelligence provided by the Israeli Security Agency. Critics argue that such evidence remains unverifiable and shrouded in secrecy, casting doubt on the transparency of the designation process.

Human Rights in the Crossfire

Addameer’s work has drawn international attention for its legal defense of Palestinian detainees, including Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian human rights lawyer who was arrested by Israel in 2022. That incident was referenced in the U.S. State Department’s human rights report under a section titled “Retaliation Against Human Rights Defenders.”

As the conflict in Gaza intensifies and humanitarian needs escalate, the Treasury’s crackdown is likely to fuel further criticism from civil society groups who argue that legitimate humanitarian aid risks being criminalized.

With geopolitical tensions at a boiling point and humanitarian efforts under increasing scrutiny, the latest U.S. sanctions underscore the fragile intersection between aid, activism, and national security policy in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

Abbas, 88, did not mince words, referring to Hamas fighters as “sons of dogs” and blaming the group for prolonging the ongoing war in Gaza by giving Israel justification for its continued offensive.

“Sons of dogs, release the hostages and block their justifications,” Abbas declared, adding, “Israel’s military campaign has turned into the Israeli genocide that the Gaza Strip is being subjected to.”

While Israel denies accusations of genocide, asserting its military actions target Hamas in self-defense, Abbas’s remarks underscore a dramatic escalation in tensions between Palestinian factions and a notable shift in his public stance toward Hamas.

A Stark Shift in Tone

Though Abbas has often criticized Hamas, Wednesday’s scathing address marked his most direct public attack. The timing coincides with renewed ceasefire efforts led by regional powers including Egypt, which has proposed disarming Hamas as a step toward peace.

Abbas refrained from explicitly condemning Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel but reiterated his longstanding opposition to violence against civilians and his advocacy for a two-state solution.

“Hamas must end its control over the Gaza Strip, hand over all its affairs to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the legitimate Palestinian National Authority, and refrain from carrying arms,” he said. “It must transform into a political party operating within the framework of international legitimacy.”

Hamas Fires Back

Hamas responded swiftly, rejecting Abbas’s accusations and challenging his legitimacy as Palestinian leader. The group claimed Abbas was shifting blame for Israel’s “crimes” onto the Palestinian people, calling his statements “suspicious and dangerous.”

The bitter rivalry between Fatah—Abbas’s party—and Hamas has long fractured Palestinian politics. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 following a violent power struggle, and repeated reconciliation attempts have failed, despite agreements in Cairo and Beijing involving numerous Palestinian factions.

Internal Rift and International Implications

Abbas accused Hamas of inflicting “severe damage” on the Palestinian cause for independence. “It has provided the occupation with dangerous free services, whether intentionally or unintentionally,” he said. “Hostage-taking gave the criminal occupation one of its most prominent excuses to carry out its conspiracies and crimes in Gaza.”

He renewed his appeal for an international peace conference and the enforcement of existing UN Security Council resolutions, aiming to break the impasse and reignite efforts toward a lasting solution.

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and political divisions deepen, Abbas’s sharp rhetoric signals a critical moment in Palestinian politics—and raises new questions about the path forward for both Palestinian governance and the broader conflict.