MIES, Switzerland (AP) — The NBA and FIBA indicated Thursday that they still hope to merge with the EuroLeague, which rejected an initial offer to join forces this week.
In a joint statement, the NBA and FIBA — who plan to launch a new league in Europe as early as next year — said a “partnership between the EuroLeague, FIBA and the NBA to unify the European basketball ecosystem would unlock the game’s enormous potential across Europe for the benefit of clubs, players and, most importantly, fans."
The NBA and FIBA added they “remain committed” to the new league, which has been planned to launch in the fall of 2027.
It seems likely that merger talks will continue, with Barcelona — a EuroLeague member — saying this week that the door remains open even though the first proposal was rejected. "Should that (merger) proposal be amended in the future, the clubs and the EuroLeague will reconsider it,” the club said.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said multiple times, and as recently as last month, that he believes the new league would benefit from “joining forces with the EuroLeague.”
“It doesn’t have to happen, but I think we all would be better off as a unified front in Europe,” Silver said at last month's Board of Governors meeting.
The NBA and FIBA formally announced their plans for an NBA Europe venture in March 2025. The new league would have some permanent franchises, with chances for others to qualify based on performance.
Many of the NBA’s top current stars hail from Europe, including San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama (France), Denver’s Nikola Jokic (Serbia), the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Miami’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece).
“For us, in terms of NBA Europe, we truly see it as a once-in-forever opportunity,” Silver said last month. “Historic from our standpoint in terms of what this could mean, not just for basketball but the European sport landscape. And we want to get it right.”
The 20-team EuroLeague is comprised of 13 shareholder clubs immune from relegation. The rest either qualify through their domestic leagues or through invitation. The NBA, in partnership with FIBA, has said it envisions a 16-team league.
See AP’s full NBA coverage here
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic smiles while walking on the floor during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
BEIRUT (AP) — Palestinian factions are discussing postponing legislative elections that had been planned for November, officials said Thursday.
A top official with the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad group said the factions had reached an agreement to delay the vote, which is facing huge logistical issues in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and war-ravaged Gaza, as well as the long history of internal feuding among the Palestinians.
A spokesperson for Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, stopped short of confirming that a final decision had been reached. But he said the election timing will be part of a “dialogue and national consensus” among the factions and that the potential postponement will be discussed by the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Abbas has set Nov. 28 as the date of parliamentary elections in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. If the elections proceeded on schedule, they would be the first polls in 20 years.
Islamic Jihad deputy secretary-general Mohammad al-Hindi said in a statement to The Associated Press that after meeting in Cairo, the factions “have reached understandings regarding the resumption of Palestinian national dialogue and agreed to postpone the upcoming Palestinian elections.”
He said that the Fatah delegation will return to Ramallah to finalize consultations.
Fatah spokesperson Abdel Fattah Dolah said the party wants elections to take place but is engaged in dialogue with the other factions on their timing, in light of calls for their postponement and “the difficult circumstances on the ground facing our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." He described the discussions in Cairo as “very positive.”
Countries that back the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority have pushed for elections as part of broader reforms. In the past, Palestinian leaders have postponed elections at the eleventh hour, citing challenges including campaigning and voting in east Jerusalem. The logistics of voting in the Gaza Strip are even more complicated.
Failing to hold the elections could strain the Palestinian Authority’s relations with donor countries that help fund it.
Key logistical issues for holding the vote in Gaza and east Jerusalem remain unresolved, and leading factions have not registered electoral slates, with the deadline for candidates less than a week away.
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said the scheduled elections had been premature.
“Election is part of a democratic process, and it has to be built on a solid Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue to see how can we proceed forward in this conflict, and how to manage our internal disputes, and to offer, or how to present the Palestinians to the world with a united leadership, with a united vision,” he said.
Naim said Hamas would support postponing the election if it would allow for such a dialogue to take place.
Without elections, the Palestinian Authority has gradually lost popularity in Gaza and the West Bank, where many Palestinians see it as ineffective, corrupt and acting as a subcontractor for Israel's decades-long occupation.
Hamas won a majority of seats in the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council the last time elections were held in 2006. Israel and Western countries then boycotted its government, fueling months of unrest that led to the Hamas takeover of Gaza the following year. Abbas dissolved the parliament in 2018 and postponed the most recent scheduled elections in 2021.
Ahead of November's scheduled election, an unlikely alliance — which appeared to take aim at 90-year-old Abbas — had emerged between Hamas, Islamic Jihad and a bloc led by Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah security chief who was exiled in 2010 after a bitter falling-out with Abbas and had previously been driven from Gaza by Hamas. Dahlan has since cultivated close ties with the United Arab Emirates, which has relations with Israel and was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords.
He serves as an adviser to the UAE's ruler and maintains extensive contacts with U.S. and Israeli officials, making him an unlikely ally for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have fought Israel for decades.
There have been multiple attempts over the years to bring Hamas and Islamic Jihad into the Fatah-led PLO, the highest body representing the Palestinian cause internationally, but all have foundered.
A main sticking point has been the PLO’s recognition of Israel. While Hamas officials have said they are willing to accept a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war — they have stopped short of recognizing Israel, while Islamic Jihad takes a harder line.
Both are considered terrorist groups by the U.S. and other Western countries, which have voiced support for Palestinian democracy over the years while rejecting any government that includes Hamas.
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Metz reported from Jerusalem.
Islamic Jihad deputy Secretary General Mohammed al-Hindi talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Istanbul on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
