ISTANBUL — Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad group have agreed to form an unlikely electoral coalition with a former top Fatah official who has close ties to the United Arab Emirates, Israel’s closest ally in the Middle East, Palestinian officials told The Associated Press. The alliance could be well positioned to threaten the dominance of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party over the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority — but only if the first national elections in 20 years actually happen, which is very much in doubt. Abbas has said parliamentary elections will be held Nov. 28 in Gaza and the West Bank. But he has repeatedly delayed elections, most recently in 2021, when Fatah appeared headed for defeat. When Hamas won the last elections, in 2006, Israel and Western countries boycotted its government, fuelling months of unrest that led to its takeover of Gaza the following year. Islamic Jihad deputy Secretary General Mohammed al-Hindi confirmed the formation of the electoral alliance in a rare interview with The Associated Press in Istanbul on Monday. He said it would support “a unified national list” that could be made up of independent figures rather than members of the groups. It would include a bloc led by Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah security chief who was exiled in 2010 after a bitter falling-out with Abbas and had previously been driven from Gaza by Hamas. Dahlan has since cultivated close ties with the UAE, where he serves as an adviser to the ruler. The UAE was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords, and Dahlan himself has extensive contacts with U.S. and Israeli officials, making him an unlikely ally for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have fought Israel for decades. The alliance appears to be rooted in shared frustration with Abbas. New alliance takes aim at Abbas Abbas’ leadership of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy over parts of the occupied West Bank, is deeply unpopular among Palestinians who see it as autocratic, corrupt and ineffective. The 90-year-old Abbas has clung to power since his own mandate expired in 2009, while Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza three years into a brutal war with Israel. Dimitri Diliani, spokesperson for Dahlan’s Reformist Democratic Faction, stopped short of declaring a formal alliance but confirmed the factions are assembling a list that would transcend their political differences. The Palestinian Authority under Abbas “has failed Gaza and the Palestinian people everywhere,” he said. He said several other Palestinian groups are also part of the initiative and there are efforts to bring “all other factions and independent professionals into uniting around one national rebuilding program.” Hamas said in August that Dahlan and Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya had met in Cairo and discussed ways to “end the monopolization of national decision-making and formulate a comprehensive national strategy.” Hamas and Fatah officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Past attempts at Palestinian unity have failed Al-Hindi said the decision to launch the alliance came after attempts to bring together all factions in a “dialogue for internal consensus on the overall Palestinian issue” failed to bear fruit. There have been multiple attempts over the years to bring Hamas and Islamic Jihad into the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization, the highest body representing the Palestinian cause internationally, but all have foundered. A main sticking point has been the PLO’s recognition of Israel. While Hamas officials have said they are willing to accept a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war — they have stopped short of recognizing Israel, while Islamic Jihad takes a harder line. Both are considered terrorist groups by the U.S. and other Western countries, which have voiced support for Palestinian democracy over the years while rejecting any government that includes Hamas. Fatah and Hamas are the most popular factions by far, though many Palestinians are frustrated with both. Al-Hindi said his group — which has historically not participated in elections run by the Palestinian Authority — will not directly run any candidates but will “support a national list that is agreed upon.” Violence is ongoing in Gaza and the West Bank The scheduled elections come at a precarious time. In the West Bank, attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians have intensified. In Gaza, a ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 has halted the heaviest fighting, but the Israeli military has seized control of more of the territory and continued strikes, which it says are in response to threats. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Under a U.S. plan for implementing the ceasefire, armed Palestinian groups were to give up their weapons while Israel would withdraw from the enclave. Al-Hindi said his group, along with Hamas, had agreed to the plan and blamed Israel for blocking it. “When Israel’s obligations in the first phase (of the agreement) are achieved, we will move on to talk about the second phase, which includes the issue of weapons,” al-Hindi said. Islamic Jihad official says Oct. 7 came as a surprise Islamic Jihad took part in the Oct. 7 attack and held Israeli hostages, but al-Hindi said the group was not involved in planning the attack or given forewarning by Hamas. The night before, he said, Islamic Jihad members held a commemoration of the group’s founding and many stayed up late. “In the morning, we were surprised by the media reporting what happened, but as a resistance movement, we were quick to participate in these confrontations,” he said. With tens of thousands dead, Gaza largely reduced to rubble, and most of its population displaced, al-Hindi acknowledged that “some voices began to express doubts and say, ’What has the resistance brought down on the Palestinian people?’” But he insisted that the Oct. 7 attack had been necessary to prevent the plight of the Palestinians from being completely sidelined as the UAE and other Arab countries had moved to normalize relations with Israel. He also acknowledged that Iran — long a main source of support for Palestinian militant groups — is now preoccupied by the ongoing war and a U.S. economic blockade. But al-Hindi said his group will continue with or without Iranian support. “As long as there is no political horizon to solve the Palestinian issue and attempts continue to flee from the Palestinian cause in the region, the future will be resistance,” he said. ___ Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Abby Sewell, The Associated Press
