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Palestinian local elections give some Gazans a chance to vote for the first time in years

AFP 20260421 A8K483Y v1 HighRes PalestinianIsraelConflictPoliticsElectionsGaza

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. File.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Palestinians ​were voting in local elections on Saturday (April 25, 2026) that include Gaza for the first time in two decades and will gauge the ‌political mood at a time when Israel’s government is seeking to destroy any future for ​a Palestinian state.

The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority hopes the symbolic inclusion of the Gazan city ⁠of Deir al-Balah will help reinforce its claim to authority over the war-torn territory, from where it was ousted by Hamas in 2007.

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