A distant return and an endless exile

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Fayrouz has a song that does not pass in the memory like other songs. It is part of our psychological formation, and perhaps of our psychological defeat as well. It reminds us of the brokenness of our dreams as much as it gave us, long ago, enthusiasm and hope: “Another day has passed, our exile has increased by day, and the day of our return has approached.”

The phrase was building a simple and reassuring equation: every day spent in exile consumes a day of it, and every day gone brings one step closer to return. But the Palestinian issue brings us back, unfortunately, to an inverted equation. Days pass and estrangement increases, and the day disappears, so return does not come close, but rather seems farther away. Every time we think that the Palestinians are close to regaining their decision, an event, division, or decision comes to take them back to the beginning.

I was reminded of the song with the news that spread about the Palestinian leadership’s intention to postpone the legislative elections scheduled for next November 28 until next year. Accuracy requires saying that an official decision to postpone has not been issued as of the writing of these lines. The Central Elections Commission still officially confirms that the voting date is in place, after President Mahmoud Abbas had set it in a decree issued last July. However, reports of the last hours speak of political and diplomatic moves that pave the way for postponement, and of European diplomats informing themselves of the difficulty of holding elections in the current circumstances, and seeking an Egyptian-sponsored factional dialogue that would give the postponement a cover of “national consensus.”

The circumstances are indeed difficult, and they cannot be simplified or denied. Gaza is devastated, and its residents are divided between displacement, loss, and trying to stay alive. The West Bank is living under the pressure of incursions, settlements, and settler violence, and Jerusalem is subject to Israeli restrictions that everyone knows can disrupt any electoral process. There are reports of Israel's refusal to allow the Election Commission to enter Gaza and Jerusalem, as well as legitimate questions about ensuring the security of polling stations and not being bombed or closed.

These are real reasons, not imaginary. But the chronic Palestinian problem is that the real reasons turn, time after time, into open doors for endless postponement. The occupation will never provide ideal conditions for holding free Palestinian elections, nor will it wake up one morning to decide to help the Palestinians renew their legitimacy and build their institutions. If the absence of Israel's approval becomes sufficient reason to suspend the elections, Israel will have practically obtained veto power over all Palestinian political life.

We previously witnessed the same scenario in 2021. Decrees were issued, political forces took action, lists were formed, and hopes rose for holding the first legislative elections since 2006. Then came the postponement under the pretext of not guaranteeing Jerusalem’s participation. The postponement was not for weeks or months, but rather turned into a wait that extended for another five years. Therefore, the expression “until next year” seems less reassuring than some might think, as the Palestinians know from their experience that a postponed date may become a date without a date.

The last Palestinian legislative elections were held in January 2006, and the last presidential elections were held in 2005. We are therefore not talking about a passing glitch in the political schedule, but rather about an entire generation that grew up without participating in choosing its national institutions. The Palestinian, who was born in 2006, has reached voting age today, but he has never seen general legislative elections in his life. Twenty years is not a procedural postponement, it is a freezing of political life, and a transformation of elected institutions into structures that have lost their connection to time and to the transformations within society.

Elections before or reconciliation?

The most dangerous thing is that postponing elections is usually presented as a way to protect national unity, while experience has proven that it is one of the reasons for the continued division. It is said that elections cannot be held before reconciliation, and then reconciliation is not achieved, so the elections are postponed, and the division is used as a justification for not returning to the people, while the absence of elections leads to deepening the division and giving the competing forces an additional interest in the continuation of the status quo. The responsibility does not fall on one party. The occupation is responsible for undermining the Palestinian political sphere and for preventing movement, assembly, and voting in Jerusalem. Fatah, Hamas, and the rest of the factions bear responsibility for years of struggle over power and for presenting organizational calculations over the need to build comprehensive national legitimacy. As for the Arab countries, they hosted endless rounds of reconciliation and dialogues that produced more data and images than viable institutions.

But the greatest responsibility falls on those who have the decision to call or postpone elections. If the postponement is inevitable, it is not enough to say “until next year.” What is required is a new, specific and binding date, an announced road map, Arab and international guarantees, an alternative mechanism for Jerusalemites to vote, and realistic arrangements for Gaza’s participation whenever security conditions permit. The postponement, if it occurs, should be accompanied by a consensus government with a specific mission and duration, whose sole mission is to unify institutions and prepare for elections, and not to manage a transitional phase that will turn into a permanent situation. The problem is not only about who will win: Fatah, Hamas, the independents, or the new lists. The problem is deeper: Who has the right to grant or withhold Palestinian legitimacy? Does legitimacy remain an inheritance maintained by leaders and factions because they possessed it at a previous moment, or is it a renewed right granted only by the people?

Elections under occupation are not normal elections, but they are not a luxury that can be dispensed with until the occupation ends. On the contrary, political legitimacy is one of the tools of his resistance. The world is being asked to recognize the right of the Palestinians to self-determination, while the right of the Palestinian himself to participate in determining the form of his leadership remains suspended. It is difficult to defend the Palestinian state as a viable democratic project if its institutions remain without renewal, its society without a voice, and its youth outside the decision-making equation. The return that Fayrouz sang about is not only the return of the refugee to his home and land, it is also the return of the Palestinian to his decision, the return of politics to the people, and the return of institutions to their meaning. Every election that is canceled or postponed without a guaranteed date makes this return further, even if it is said that the postponement does not exceed a year. “Another day has disappeared.” But this time the day of exile has not diminished. Added to the above. As for the return, instead of approaching during the day, it seems as if it is moving away for another year.