FiMED – Follow-up

The National Committee for the Palestinian National Council Elections in Lebanon held a meeting with the Hezbollah leadership, attended by the official in charge of the Palestinian file, Hajj Hassan Hoballah, and Sheikh Atallah Hammoud, with the participation of representatives of a number of Palestinian factions and forces.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Alliance of Palestinian Forces, which includes Hamas, the Islamic Jihad movement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command, Fatah al-Intifada, al-Saiqa, the Palestine Liberation Front, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front and the Palestinian Communist Party, as well as the Democratic Reform Current in Fatah, the Islamic Forces and Ansar Allah.

The participants discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian and Lebanese arenas, as well as the Palestinian National Council elections and the mechanisms for holding them in Lebanon.

The participants affirmed their support for free, fair and transparent elections that allow Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to choose their representatives, stressing the importance of guaranteeing Palestinians' participation in the electoral process and not excluding any party or body.

They also called for rejecting unilateralism and exclusion and for strengthening Palestinian national partnership, consensus and dialogue, in a way that helps unify the Palestinian position and preserve national unity.

The meeting also addressed the importance of taking into account the particular nature of the Lebanese arena, stressing the need to preserve the security and stability of the Palestinian and Lebanese arenas and to strengthen coordination and dialogue in a way that serves the interests of Palestinian refugees and guarantees their participation in the electoral processes concerning the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

The National Council elections

The meeting comes amid growing Palestinian debate over the mechanisms for renewing the Palestinian National Council and the representation of Palestinians abroad, particularly refugees in Arab countries, with calls for wider participation in choosing their representatives and for guaranteeing the representative character of the electoral process.

The issue of representing Palestinians in Lebanon is the subject of debate over how the Lebanese arena's representatives in the Palestinian National Council will be chosen. In July 2026, the Follow-up Committee for the National Council Elections in Lebanon announced that it had settled on an electoral college as the feasible option given the political and logistical obstacles preventing free and direct elections, recommending national consensus to ensure the widest Palestinian participation.

By contrast, September saw the emergence of the National Committee for the Palestinian National Council Elections in Lebanon, which called for a democratic and direct mechanism for choosing Palestinians' representatives and rejected the selection of council members through an electoral college formed without comprehensive national consensus, arguing that Palestinians' representation must be based on their will and participation, not on appointment or partial agreements.

The disputes centre mainly on Lebanon's quota of 18 seats in the National Council, and whether they will be filled by direct ballot or through an electoral college representing the Palestinian forces and components in the Lebanese arena. The National Committee stresses that its position does not target any particular faction, but focuses on elections, partnership and the rejection of exclusion and unilateralism.