{"id":6756,"date":"2026-10-03T06:11:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T06:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6756"},"modified":"2026-10-03T06:11:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T06:11:46","slug":"gaza-voters-want-jobs-and-security-as-palestinian-elections-approach-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6756","title":{"rendered":"Gaza voters want jobs and security as Palestinian elections approach | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip \u2013<\/strong> Ahmad Mohsen, 24, sits in a shop selling prepaid\u00a0internet access cards in Deir el-Balah. Three years ago, before Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza started, he imagined a different future. He had graduated with a degree in nursing and was preparing to complete the procedures required to obtain his professional licence. He dreamed of working in a hospital, pursuing a master\u2019s degree or taking specialised courses.<\/p>\n

But the war pushed him onto a different path.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

During the first months of the war, Mohsen worked as a volunteer at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, amid large numbers of wounded and dead, before the lack of pay led him to look for other work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got tired, and I wasn\u2019t being paid for my efforts, so I started looking for another job that would give me at least a small income,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The upcoming Palestinian legislative elections<\/a>, scheduled for November 28, would be Mohsen\u2019s first national vote, and the first Palestinian legislative election since 2006. Mohsen has his priorities: he wants candidates to address problems facing his generation, including unemployment<\/a>, security, housing, education and healthcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I want is to be able to find a stable job with a decent salary so I can support myself and my family, and the second thing is to have security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mohsen\u2019s concerns are common among Palestinians in Gaza, where unemployment sits at about 80 percent. The enclave\u2019s economy has been destroyed following years of Israeli blockade and its war that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians.<\/p>\n

His family owns land east of Gaza\u2019s Salah al-Din Street, in an area Israel restricts access to<\/a>, leaving him unable to reach it. He hopes that, in accordance with the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, Israel will soon withdraw from the area and allow for reconstruction to begin in the devastated territory.<\/p>\n

For Mohsen, elections are not enough if they do not translate into improvements in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cA candidate should put themselves in the people\u2019s place and speak with the people\u2019s voice, not someone else\u2019s voice. They should speak for us, the young people who have been wronged for 20 years through wars and destruction. There needs to be an end to this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Ahmad
Ahmad Mohsen hopes that the Palestinian legislative elections will bring about some material improvement to his life [Lina Ghassan Abu Zayed\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Democratic memories<\/h2>\n

Unlike Mohsen, Ghassan Marwan, 53, carries memories of the 2006 elections, which were won by Hamas.<\/p>\n

Marwan previously worked as a goldsmith and established a factory that became his family\u2019s source of income.<\/p>\n

When he went to the polls in 2006, he hoped the elections would help improve people\u2019s lives, provide security and jobs, and give his children a more stable future. He remembers voting at a school in Nuseirat for a list headed by the independent politician Mustafa Barghouti, and says the experience was transparent and fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI witnessed a great deal of transparency and integrity. It was like a democratic celebration. But unfortunately, that experience was not repeated over the past 20 years,\u201d Marwan said.<\/p>\n

Twenty years later, his life has completely changed. He lost his home and his factory in January 2024, during the war. More than 30 years of work can no longer guarantee the stability he had sought for his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter losing your home and your source of income, what else do you want? All you hope for is reconstruction, calm and security in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What hurts Marwan most, he said, is seeing his children living among tents instead of in the stable home he had hoped to provide. The war has also brought him back to tasks he never imagined he would face after years of work, such as searching for water and carrying it over long distances.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all these years, I am carrying water from far away. Am I going to remain in this situation? I am 53 today. In 10 years, I will be in my 60s, and I will not be able to carry this burden,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Marwan believes these circumstances have also affected people\u2019s interest in politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur interest in politics has declined, not because it does not concern us, but because of all the frustration and despair that have accumulated. People have become preoccupied with how to get by and secure their daily bread,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The prospect of elections amid the widespread destruction and displacement around him nevertheless leaves him torn between hope and scepticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I feel that talking about elections is almost a joke, because there are no clear conditions for holding them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Recovery is priority<\/h2>\n

The Palestinian Central Elections Commission is preparing to hold the vote in the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza. It estimates that about 1.24 million Palestinians in Gaza will be eligible to vote.<\/p>\n

According to Jamil al-Khalidi, the commission\u2019s regional director in Gaza, the process faces logistical and security challenges because of the scale of destruction in the territory and the mass displacement that has occurred since Israel\u2019s war started. The commission has prepared contingency plans to produce election materials locally in case Israel restricts the entry of supplies into Gaza.<\/p>\n

For Gaza-based political analyst and writer Iyad al-Qarra, the war has not eliminated Palestinians\u2019 interest in politics, but has instead changed what they expect politics to deliver.<\/p>\n

After nearly three years of displacement, destruction and lost livelihoods, he argued that political demands from Palestinians in Gaza have become directly linked to the ability of future leaders to restore a normal life, rather than simply administer institutions or offer political slogans.<\/p>\n

Al-Qarra says that the priority is a leadership capable of representing people and meeting their basic needs, foremost among them rebuilding Gaza, restoring infrastructure and the health and education sectors, and creating conditions that allow people to regain their lives and livelihoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a widespread desire for leadership that puts Gaza\u2019s recovery at the top of its priorities, given the heavy price the Strip has paid,\u201d al-Qarra said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip \u2013 Ahmad Mohsen, 24, sits in a shop selling prepaid\u00a0internet access cards in Deir el-Balah. Three years ago, before Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza started, he imagined a different future. He had graduated with a degree in nursing and was preparing to complete the procedures required to obtain his professional licence….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t