Palestinian Elections 2026... The Era of Alliance Makers, Not Speech Makers

Palestinians may discover, for the first time, that legislative elections are not decided on polling day, but by the days preceding it. The politician who succeeds in the 2026 elections will not necessarily be the best orator, nor the most present in the media, nor even the one with the longest struggle history, but rather that man or woman who possesses a rare talent in Palestinian politics... alliance making. For decades, we have been accustomed to measuring a politician's strength by the number of their supporters, but the upcoming elections will impose a completely different standard. The true leader will not be one who merely gathers supporters, but one who transforms rivals into partners. And here begins the real story. Everyone is preoccupied with the traditional question: How many seats will Fatah get? And how many will Hamas get? And who will be third? But the question I see as more important is: Who will lead the national alternative? This is not just a battle between Fatah and Hamas, as these two movements have established organizations and known electoral bases. The battle that will determine the future of Palestinian political life is the one taking place within the camp of independents and new national forces. There are dozens of respected national figures, academics, trade unionists, businessmen, and youth who possess competence and a desire for change. But the question is not: How many are there? The question is: Can they become one project? The electoral threshold has created a new political reality. A list that cannot reach tens of thousands of votes will not enter the Legislative Council, regardless of the caliber of its members. This means that the era of lists based on one person, a group of friends, or social prestige is nearing its end. We have entered the era of alliances. But the problem is that some politicians are still thinking with yesterday's mindset. They all talk about unity... but they disagree at the first question: Who will head the list? And here, politics transforms from a national project into a personal project. The arrangement of names becomes more important than the arrangement of priorities. And leadership becomes a goal, after it was a means to serve the cause. The most dangerous threat to the national alternative is not the strength of traditional parties, but the weakness of the culture of partnership among the forces of change themselves. Fatah will not lose because it knows who leads it. And Hamas will not lose because it knows who leads it. As for the independents, they may lose because each one of them wants to lead everyone. And this is not an organizational crisis... but a crisis of political culture. That is why I believe that the upcoming elections will not only produce a new Legislative Council, but will also produce three models of politicians. The first... the statesman. He is the one who realizes that the success of the national project is more important than his personal position, and that compromise is sometimes the highest degree of leadership. The second... the man of the old era. Who still believes that politics revolves around the leader, and that heading a small list is better than being a partner in a large project. As for the third... the opportunist politician. Who moves between alliances according to calculations of profit and loss, not according to a vision or program. And I think that Palestinians have become more capable of distinguishing between these models. Society has changed. And people's priorities have changed. And slogans alone are no longer enough. People want someone who answers questions about work, education, health, economy, reconstruction, fighting corruption, and building institutions that deserve the citizen's trust. The issue is no longer just who leads the Legislative Council... but who leads the idea of the national alternative. The alternative that is not based only on rejecting reality, but on presenting a political and economic project capable of building a modern state, a productive economy, strong institutions, and a real national partnership. Therefore, the weeks preceding the registration of lists will be more important than polling day itself. There, in the discussion rooms, the alternative will be born... or it will die before seeing the light. And there, the true alliance makers will emerge. Those who understand that politics is not the art of triumphing over partners, but the art of triumphing with them. And when history writes the story of these elections, it will not dwell much on the number of seats each list obtained. Rather, it will ask one question: Did the Palestinian elite succeed in transitioning from a culture of leadership to a culture of partnership? For Palestinian experience has taught us that division has always been the shortest path to defeat. And perhaps the 2026 elections will teach us a new lesson: that the national alternative does not fall because it is weak... but falls when it fails to unite. And then the question will not be: Who won the elections? But: Who missed the historic opportunity to build the alternative that Palestinians have long awaited?