Palestinians vote in municipal elections as support for Abbas slips

(Image credit: ABBAS MOMANI / AFP)

published 11 December 2021

Palestinians voted Saturday in municipal elections in the West Bank against the backdrop of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' dwindling popularity, Reuters reports.

No elections were held for Palestine's legislature or presidency, and the last legislative elections were held in 2006. Abbas, now 86, was elected to a four-year term in 2005 and has not faced voters since.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, Israel is only one of the issues on the minds of Palestinian voters. Many Palestinians are critical of Fatah for what they regard as its too-friendly relationship with the Jewish state, but they are also exasperated with the Fatah government's corruption and the inefficient public services it provides. "We need someone to handle the roads, trash and support town planning," 49-year-old Khader Khalifeh from the West Bank told the Journal.

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

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