France voices regret as Palestinian elections pushed to September 2027

Update, 11 October, 16:08 Israel time

France has expressed regret over the postponement. The foreign desk of Israeli broadcaster N12 reported that a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry voiced regret at the decision, which N12 described as an announcement by the Palestinian Authority that the vote had been moved to September 2027. N12's wording attributes the move to the Palestinian Authority itself rather than only to an adviser, though its brief report does not cite a formal decree. It did not give further detail of the French statement.

Hamas position. The Jerusalem Post, citing an expert it spoke to, reported that Hamas supports delaying the Palestinian Legislative Council vote. According to that analysis, the movement sees the delay as a way to gain time, to strengthen its own legitimacy and to attack Abbas. This is the expert's assessment as presented by the newspaper; the material available does not include a statement from Hamas itself, and the expert is not named in the portion of the report received.

These are the first reactions from a foreign government and from a Palestinian faction in the reporting available so far. Neither report addresses al-Habbash's claim that Israeli obstacles forced the delay.

The story as first reported

Palestinian elections have been put off until September 2027, according to Mahmoud al-Habbash, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abu Ali Express, a Hebrew-language Telegram channel that tracks Arab media, carried his remarks, in which he said the Palestinian leadership had been forced to delay the vote because of obstacles placed by Israel. He added that there was no guarantee the elections would actually take place on the newly set date.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the postponement concerns elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council and that it has angered Palestinians, describing the decision as another delay by Abbas. The newspaper's headline carried the phrase "disregarded hopes of millions" as a characterisation of the reaction. Israel's Foreign Ministry responded on its official X account, describing the move as a cancellation rather than a postponement.

Who announced the delay

The statement attributed to al-Habbash is the only direct account of the decision in the material available. As quoted by Abu Ali Express, he placed responsibility on Israel, saying the delay was forced by Israeli obstacles, and he described September 2027 as the new date while warning that it carried "no guarantee". Abbas, who is also widely known by his nickname Abu Mazen, is the President of the Palestinian Authority, the body that administers parts of the West Bank. Its government operates from the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Abbas appeared at a public ceremony on September 9, 2026, according to a photo caption published by The Jerusalem Post.

Abu Ali Express, in posting the quote, added its own sarcastic remark to the effect that it was fortunate the Palestinian leadership had someone to blame. That comment reflects the channel's editorial stance rather than a factual claim about the decision.

What the Palestinian Legislative Council is

The Palestinian Legislative Council, often shortened to PLC, is the elected legislature of the Palestinian Authority. It is meant to pass laws and oversee the executive. The Jerusalem Post framed the latest announcement as a repeat of earlier postponements, using the word "again" in its headline, which indicates that Palestinian voters have been promised elections before without them taking place. The reports do not list those earlier delays, so this article does not detail them.

Israel's response

Israel's Foreign Ministry, posting on its official X account, said Abbas had called off Palestinian elections once more. The ministry noted that Abbas was elected in 2005 to serve a four-year term and has remained in office for more than two decades since. "The excuses change. The president doesn't," the post said. It also criticised the international community for continuing to accept the explanations offered by the Palestinian leadership.

The ministry's post did not address the specific claim by al-Habbash that Israeli obstacles were the reason for the delay. It instead focused on the length of Abbas's time in power and the absence of a renewed electoral mandate.

Where the accounts differ

The three reports agree that a scheduled Palestinian vote will not go ahead as planned, but they describe the decision differently. Al-Habbash, as quoted by Abu Ali Express, called it a postponement and named a new date. The Jerusalem Post also described it as a postponement. Israel's Foreign Ministry described it as a cancellation. The two sides also disagree on responsibility: the Palestinian adviser blamed Israel, while the Israeli ministry presented the delay as a pattern of conduct by Abbas himself.

The reports also differ in scope. The Jerusalem Post refers specifically to legislative elections, while the al-Habbash quote and the Foreign Ministry post refer to elections in general terms. It is not clear from the material whether a presidential vote was also affected.

What the reports do not say

• None of the reports identifies what specific Israeli obstacles al-Habbash was referring to.
• The original date on which the elections had been scheduled is not given.
• The reports do not say whether a formal decree or official announcement from Abbas's office accompanied the adviser's remarks.
• It is unclear who voiced the "disregarded hopes of millions" criticism cited by The Jerusalem Post, or how widespread the anger it describes is.
• The reports do not say whether the delay covers voting in Gaza, East Jerusalem or only the West Bank.
• No response from other Palestinian factions or from foreign governments is included in the material.