Palestinians in West Bank and some in Gaza vote in local elections

Palestinians are voting in local elections on Saturday, including the first poll of any kind to be held in Gaza since 2006. Elections are taking place across the occupied West Bank, as well as in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza where Hamas operates. Hamas was not allowed to stand and several other factions have boycotted it over a requirement that ca...

Palestinians are voting in local elections on Saturday, including the first poll of any kind to be held in Gaza since 2006.

Elections are taking place across the occupied West Bank, as well as in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza where Hamas operates.

Hamas was not allowed to stand and several other factions have boycotted it over a requirement that candidates recognise the authority of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA) governing the parts of the occupied West Bank not under Israeli control.

Fatah, the faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas and which dominates the PLO, was violently ousted from Gaza after the last elections there, which Hamas won triggering a power struggle between the two groups.