Hamas has ruled Gaza for 10 years, but has failed to call elections even once since coming to power in a bloody civil war.
Hamas, founded in 1987 during the First Intifada as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, is known for its rejection of all forms of normalization with what it calls “the Israeli occupation.”
After Israel granted all of Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005, without even requesting a promise of peace in return, one would expect Hamas to be relieved that there’s no occupation to fight and turn its focus to bettering the lives of Gazans.
This is not the case. Since taking control of the strip in the 2007 Battle of Gaza, in which Hamas and Fatah killed and wounded hundreds of fellow Palestinians, Hamas leaders have not had local residents’ needs in mind.
Watch this informative video from the IDF and you will see why Hamas hasn’t called elections the past ten years.