Mahmoud Abbas: Do not reverse your most popular decision, extinguish our last bit of hope - opinion

An open letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urges him not to postpone the November 28 legislative elections, arguing that the decision to hold them is the most popular of his career. The writer warns that canceling the vote without a democratic alternative would repeat the mistake of 2021, leading to extremism and violence, and calls on Abbas to stand firm against advisors pushing for delay.

An open letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, published as an opinion piece, urges him not to postpone the November 28 legislative elections. The writer, Samer Sinjilawi, a Palestinian activist, argues that the decision to hold elections is the most popular of Abbas's career, with nearly two million Palestinians registering to vote — close to 90% of eligible voters. The letter warns that senior figures advising postponement are the same voices who offered similar advice in 2021, when elections were canceled and none of the promised alternatives materialized. The writer draws a direct line from that cancellation to the October 7, 2023 attack, arguing that the resulting vacuum was filled by extremism and violence. The letter calls on Abbas to stand firm, to fight for Jerusalemites' participation using technological solutions, and to make November 28 a date with history rather than another postponed deadline. The writer frames the elections as a historic opportunity to unite a divided people, restore legitimacy to Palestinian institutions, and produce a national unity government capable of rebuilding Gaza.