France regrets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to postpone legislative elections and a presidential poll, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday, urging him to reconsider.
Abbas on Saturday postponed legislative elections due next month until 11 September 2027, and called a presidential poll for the same date, blaming Israel and the security situation in the Palestinian territories for the delay.
"France is calling on the Palestinian authorities to reverse their decision and to organise parliamentary and presidential elections throughout Palestine as soon as possible," the French foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
For months, there had been serious doubts that the Palestinian Authority vote would go ahead in late November.
The Palestinians have not held legislative or presidential elections since 2005-06, after which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' rival, Hamas, seized control of Gaza, ousting his loyalists.
The decree said Israeli military attacks, settlement expansion, settler violence and movement restrictions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, along with Israel's continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, created challenges to preparing for and holding elections on the previous date.
In Gaza, the decree pointed to "exceptional security and humanitarian conditions", the incomplete withdrawal of Israeli forces, the lack of progress in reconstruction and the failure to implement arrangements for deploying international stabilisation forces and police.
Israeli restrictions on access for election commission staff and international observers to Gaza and East Jerusalem also complicated preparations, the decree said.
The decision to postpone followed a resolution by the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive committee and consultations with Palestinian factions and political forces. It also aimed to allow time for a comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue to strengthen unity and address challenges facing the electoral process.