Palestinians in the West Bank and the central Gaza area of Deir el-Balah took part in municipal elections on Saturday, marking the first electoral process since the recent Gaza conflict. The vote involved nearly 1.5 million registered voters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and approximately 70,000 voters in Deir el-Balah, according to the Central Elections Commission based in Ramallah.

Observers noted a low voter turnout during the morning hours, with foreign diplomats present to monitor the proceedings. The commission reported that turnout was around 15% by late morning. The electoral landscape was characterized by a limited range of candidates, predominantly aligned with President Mahmoud Abbas’s secular-nationalist Fatah party or running as independents. Notably, no electoral lists from Hamas, which exerts control over much of the Gaza Strip, participated in the vote.

The elections come amid a backdrop of political fragmentation and public disillusionment, reflected in both the restricted candidate options and voter engagement. The vote did not extend to the entirety of Gaza, where Hamas maintains substantial influence, limiting electoral participation to Deir el-Balah. This municipal election serves as a barometer of the current political climate within Palestinian territories, following recent conflict and ongoing divisions between political factions.