RAMALLAH, West Bank — Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti has teamed up with Nasser al-Qudwa, a top official who was dismissed from the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, for an alliance in the upcoming legislative elections. The two, who are among Fatah's most popular figures, are challenging their own movement in a move that could lay the foundations of a new era in Palestinian politics.

The deadline to register electoral lists for the upcoming elections, set for May 22, came at midnight on March 31, with 36 lists submitted to the Central Elections Committee.  

Just hours ahead of the deadline, Fatah’s official electoral list and the Freedom list — a unified list between Barghouti and Qudwa — were both registered with the committee. Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison on involvement in killings during the second intifada. 

The Freedom list includes Fatah leaders close to Barghouti, former political figures, freed prisoners, in addition to other independent candidates. The list, in which the share of women exceeds 30%, is led by Qudwa, the nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Qudwa, who has a large following in the Gaza Strip, was dismissed from Fatah’s Central Committee in early March for his attempt to present a separate list of candidates. He is one of the most prominent Palestinian diplomatic figures as he served as minister of foreign affairs and Palestinian representative to the United Nations in previous years.