Just over a year ago, a cohort of countries across the world declared their unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, laying out various conditions upon which the recognition (allegedly) hinged.
Canada explicitly made its planned recognition conditional on PA reforms, including general elections in 2026 in which Hamas could play no part. Canada then formally recognized Palestine on 21 September 2025. France recognized Palestine in September 2025 and emphasized the PA’s commitment to hold general elections under international supervision within one year. Portugal also formally recognized Palestinian statehood on September 21, 2025, after stating that the PA had provided assurances on institutional reform, Hamas’s disarmament, a demilitarized Palestinian state, and the resumption of PA control over Gaza.
The governments’ statements did not establish an explicit mechanism for withdrawing recognition if the PA failed to meet its commitments.
This last week, however, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree canceling legislative elections scheduled for November 28, 2026, and setting presidential and legislative elections for September 11, 2027. Palestinians have now not held legislative or presidential elections since 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Several days later, the Canadian government has made no public statement about the delay.
Canada’s official description of its relations with Palestine continues to say recognition was predicated on the PA’s commitment to hold general elections in 2026, excluding Hamas, along with governance reform and demilitarization.
France criticizes Abbas’s election delay but outlines no consequences
France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, responded to the news, saying on Sunday that France “regrets” the announcement of the election postponement and that it “once again deprives the Palestinian people of the right to democratic expression at the ballot box.”
“There is an urgent need for voice to be restored to the Palestinian people and for them to be able to choose their representatives in free and transparent elections, as President Abbas had committed to do.”
“The democratic principles that are the very foundation of the State of Palestine, which France recognized, depend on it,” the minister added.
The statement then said France calls on the PA to reconsider the decision and hold elections without delay, and that France is ready to assist in the process.
The Ministry’s words nevertheless convey no real sense of consequences for the PA’s failings. It mentions no repercussions for the PA if the elections don’t take place, or how this will affect the recognition of the state.
It also does not mention the PA’s failure to keep other commitments made to France last year.
On 28 July 2025, Barrot gave a speech in New York in which he said Abbas had written a letter to the President of the French Republic and the Saudi Crown Prince, confirming “an end of allowances for the families of prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses, announced a reform of school textbooks to remove all hate speech, committed to holding presidential and general elections in 2026, and accepted that the Palestinian State will be demilitarized.”
A few months later, at the UN in New York on 22 September 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “France will keep a close eye on the full implementation of each of the commitments made to it.” These included, as per his words, “support for the disarmament of Hamas and the exclusion of Hamas from the future governance of Gaza and the entire Palestinian territory,” “commitment to fighting hate speech” and “a thorough overhaul of Palestinian governance.”
Hamas’s political influence raises questions over PA reform commitments
The elections have, of course, been discussed. But other promises here have been broken.
For example, regarding a commitment to ensure Hamas is excluded from future governance, the current second most popular potential presidential candidate, according to one recent poll, is a Hamas leader.
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted a poll of Palestinian public opinion in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between August 5 and 8, 2026.
Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah candidate, stands out as the strongest potential to succeed President Mahmoud Abbas.
In a hypothetical presidential election, PCPSR found Marwan Barghouti would receive 54%, Khalil al-Hayya 26%, and Abbas just 14%.
Al-Hayya is a Hamas leader.
While support for al-Hayya does not establish that Hamas would participate in or enter a future PA government, it highlights one of the central difficulties facing the reform commitments: the continuing presence of Hamas as a significant political force among Palestinian voters, despite international demands that it be excluded from future governance.
The PA’s commitments also raise a broader question of how elections could be organized while excluding Hamas, without undermining the democratic legitimacy that Western governments have repeatedly described as central to Palestinian statehood.
PA prisoner payments remain under scrutiny despite promised reforms
Regarding pay for slay, though President Mahmoud Abbas issued Decree-Law No. 4 in February 2025, abolishing the previous prisoner-and-martyr payment framework and establishing a needs-based social assistance system, the US and Israeli governments have continued to challenge whether the reforms have effectively ended the payments.
Abbas himself admitted in May 2026 that tax funds being withheld by Israel would be used to fund Palestinian terrorists.
“The continued holding of Palestinian Authority funds by Israel is an unprecedented event that violates the agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, as well as international law,” Abbas claimed in his Fatah conference address. “…The continued withholding of the Palestinian people’s funds, which have so far exceeded $5 billion… and all this needs to be paid to public employees, to prisoners (terrorists)…”
His comments confirmed that the PA has not ended its pay-for-slay policy, even though it has restructured payments so they no longer reflect the prisoner’s sentence. It simply now distributes the funds under the guise of social welfare.
The payments dispute is particularly relevant to France’s recognition of Palestine because Barrot had specifically cited the announced termination of payments to families of prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses as one of the assurances obtained from Abbas in 2025.
Israeli, Canadian Jewish leaders demand accountability for PA commitments
So far, Canadian Jewish groups and Israeli organizations have been among those publicly highlighting the absence of condemnation from foreign governments over the Palestinian Authority’s failure to uphold the promises made.
Iddo Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, said: “One year ago Canada recognized Palestinian statehood in exchange for Mahmoud Abbas’s ‘commitments’-a list of 30-year-long broken promises.”
Now Abbas has postponed elections to September 2027… Add that to the continuing Pay4Slay program for terrorists, and many other undelivered reforms.
What more is needed to recognize and admit that Canada’s irreversible move was in vain?”
Canada’s Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) noted the double standards, whereby Israel is always held accountable, and yet Palestinian figures are not.
“While Israel faces punitive measures from the Canadian government, the Palestinian Authority has yet to face accountability for failing to deliver on its commitments,” said CIJA.
“This is a dangerous double standard that has implications for both the region and here in Canada where security experts warn that criticism of Israel has been exploited to fuel antisemitism, violence and even acts of terror.”
“If recognizing Palestinian statehood has not secured even the commitments on which that recognition was predicated, Canadians deserve to know what Canada’s approach is achieving. Canadians need to know what concrete steps their government will now take to hold the PA accountable and ensure its policies produce meaningful progress toward peace.”
Western governments face questions over consequences for unmet PA commitments
With the election date now pushed into 2027, the immediate question for Ottawa, Paris, and other governments that cited PA reforms as part of their recognition decisions is whether the commitments they ‘secured’ will remain diplomatic expectations or become enforceable conditions for future cooperation.
