Voices From the West Bank

...Until the final determination of the West Bank's fate has been made, people will remain hesistant to commit to one force or another...

...Its methods may be unappealing, its leaders distrusted, its objectives unrealistic, and its socio-economic ethos suspect in the eyes of the local "establishment," but it is the PLO, nonetheless, which has resurrected a Palestinian identity, revived a Palestinian national movement that was moribund for over two decades, and helped bring "the Palestine question" to the center of the world's attention...

...But the condemnation of their efforts by the PLO was no less virulent than was Jordan's...

...Inspired by the apparent success of their politico-military-economic offensive in 1973, by the unwillingness of Israel to "disengage" and negotiate a Jordanian bridgehead on the West Bank, and, no doubt, by a sincere solicitude for the Palestinian cause, the Arab states, at the Rabat Summit Conference of October 1974, designated the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians, and pushed for international affirmation of this role...

...5. "Only the Arab countries can stand up to Israel...

...They include merchants with commercial links, agriculturalists who profit from technical advice and marketing arrangements, municipalities connected to Israeli water and electricity grids, and, especially, peasants and workers—perhaps 40,000—who depend on access to the Israeli labor market...

...Critics of clan pre-eminence sometimes rely on vulgarized Marxist analysis to argue that the notables have been bypassed by history...

...7. "Politics is not my business...

...The relevant history here is not that of socio-economic development in the West Bank, but rather of West Bank dependency on shifting alliances in inter-Arab politics...

...Their domination is not as absolute as in Ottoman times, or even during the British Mandate (1920-1948), when the national movement was itself an object of dynastic competition between the faction of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Mufti of Jerusalem, and the other great landed families...

...Aside from the danger of deportation or imprisonment by the Israeli authorities, there is a price to be paid for incurring the hostility of local strongmen, the Jordanian Government, or the PLO...

...In the chaos of post-Mandate Palestine, many of them turned to Hussein's grandfather, King Abdallah, to restore order, to consolidate what had been saved from Israel, and often to help continue the resistance to Husayni domination...

...the more probable outcome would be renewed Israeli occupation...

...If non-belligerent relations with Israel are desirable, a harmonious tie with the East Bank is absolutely vital...

...Hussein's opponents in the West Bank, from both the PLO and "third-force" camps, insist that his supporters are coopted "mercenaries," bought with money and the promise of high office...

...In any event, it misunderstands the dynamics of West Bank politics...

...Finally, there is the West Bank's peculiar perspective on the "Palestine question...

...And as the pace of diplomacy quickens, the search for a Palestinian interlocutor becomes more urgent...

...There is little desire to reconstitute the sealed borders that existed before 1967...

...The opinions of leading West Bankers and Gazans should therefore be a matter of inherent interest and importance...

...Hamdi a-Taji al-Faruqi of al-Bira, Fayek Barakat, chairman of the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce, and Ayoub Musallam, a former mayor of Bethlehem, and by journalists Muhammad Abu Shilbaya of Jerusalem and Muhammad Nasiriyya of Jericho...

...That is already no longer the case...

...But only Israeli defeat in another war could make that possible...

...If the contours of a settlement emerge, any indication of strong Jordanian input will reduce the risk of change, and produce more aggressive claims by these people to represent the West Bank in that settlement...

...Thus, the recent visit to Amman of Bassam ash-Shaka'a, the staunchly pro-PLO mayor of Nablus who had previously refused to venture onto the East Bank, points to yet another reevaluation in the West Bank of the external configuration of forces, and to the conclusion that Jordanian goodwill is, once again, a desirable political commodity...

...Almost a third of all Palestinians (about 900,0001,000,000) live on the East Bank of the Jordan under Hashemite rule, and if their behavior during and since the Civil War of 1970/71 is any guide, their attitude toward the PLO is rather ambivalent...

...The main division of opinion and authority in the West Bank has been between those inclined toward the PLO and those more closely identified with Jordan...

...The existence of this consensus does not contradict the different streams of thought or orientation that animate political debate and competition in the West Bank...

...The basic feature of West Bank politics is its very restricted scope...

...Palestinians have generally fared better under Jordanian rule than anywhere else in the Arab world, but the situation that prevailed before 1967 was, in many respects, highly unsatisfactory...

...In sum, a fairly widespread consensus exists on the following points: (1) ending the occupation...

...In the West Bank, there are many whose personal or philosophical commitment to the PLO is irreversible...

...The desire for a West Bank "voice" is shared by many PLO sympathizers, who cautiously suggest that a local delegation be part of any PLO negotiating team, proto-gov-ernment, or post-liberation authority...

...Opposed by Jordan, vilified by the PLO, lacking the social standing of great notables, and unable to make any headway with the Israeli administration, this potential "third-force" has failed, thus far, to materialize as a serious factor in the West Bank political arena...

...But despite the political effervescence there, it is only very recently, in response to American, Egyptian and Israeli suggestions, that serious attention has been paid to the problem of political leadership inside the territories...

...On the subject of Palestinian representation, statements made to this writer—a member of that army of pestering inquirers—include the following: 1. "Only the organizations can speak for the Palestinians...

...In Tulkarm and Ramal-lah, two voluble supporters of the PLO, incumbent mayors Hilmi Hanoun and Karim Khalaf, were returned to office...

...For the PLO, institutional survival has become the overwhelming concern...

...Only if the PLO could, through united Arab action and unrelenting American pressure, be literally forced down Israel's throat, would Arafat appear as a practical, and not just preferable, alternative...

...Furthermore, the vague prospect of instability and the specific ideas of the more doctrinaire organizations must make them wonder if this revolution, like so many others, would not end by devouring its own children...

...But the relationship of the Jordanian monarchy to these men, indeed, to the whole stratum of notables, is much more complex...

...It does mean, however, that people in the West Bank, for valid historical reasons, are closely attuned to shifting relationships among the outside forces that impinge on their own destiny...

...But the PLO's defeat in Lebanon, the American efforts to accommodate Israel's rejection of the PLO as a valid partner in negotiations, and, in particular, Anwar Sadat's bold attempt to break through the diplomatic logjam, have combined to reopen the question...

...The question has bedeviled Arab politics for over fifty years, and it is still one of the major stumbling-blocks to a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict...

...The West Bank's place in Jordanian politics has always been problematic, and West Bank loyalties to the Hash-emite regime have always been conditional, at best...

...For those inside the West Bank, the occupation itself is the most immediate problem, and it is only natural that they should place highest priority on solving it, even if that means concessions on other Palestinian objectives...

...is a fairly accurate reflection of the distribution of political power...

...The idea of a separate Palestinian entity was raised in the aftermath of the Six Day War by such local notables as Dr...

...Aziz Shehadeh was received by both Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and President Sadat, though in the company (and this may be a sign of things to come) of some well-known partisans of King Hussein...

...Western, as opposed to Soviet influence...

...In more highly structured political systems, the distribution of political offices (legislative, executive, bureaucratic, party, etc...

...For most of the period since 1967, West Bank loyalties, or more precisely, expressions of loyalty, have generally clustered around two poles of attraction—the PLO and King Hussein...

...For Palestinians abroad, including the PLO, the "pre-1967" dimensions of the Palestine question are of no less concern than the occupation of the West Bank...

...But this time, the process might also bring peace...

...Outside influence produces two other characteristics of West Bank politics—a very low sense of efficacy on the part of potential leaders, and very volatile political opinions...

...The number of West Bankers enamored of Israel or tainted by collaboration is minuscule, although accusations of collaboration are sometimes raised to disguise other motives, and Israeli withdrawal might very well provide an opportunity for some old scores to be settled...

...The PLO—itself an agglomeration of movements dominated by Arafat's Fatah—appears to control the refugee camps in Lebanon and Syria, and may very well also command the allegiance of the Palestinian bourgeoisie in those countries and of the tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Persian Gulf...

...The base was eventually destroyed, but only after determined resistance by guerrillas and the Jordanian army, who managed to inflict unusually heavy casualties on the Israeli forces...

...Such men include the former Minister of Defense, Anwar Nusayba, whose brother is currently a top-ranking Jordanian diplomat, or Anwar al-Khatib, the Governor of Jerusalem District before 1967, who is generally recognized as Hussein's leading representative on the West Bank...

...But the game is played for high stakes...

...Despite the more manageable scale of West Bank politics, however, the question of political leadership here is almost as complex as that of Palestinian leadership as a whole...

...Like most hypotheses about Palestinian politics, this is a terrible oversimplification, but one that contains a kernel of truth...

...For a time, the debate seemed to be foreclosed by the agreement among major Arab actors that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Yasir Arafat, was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people...

...But in March 1968, Israel mounted a large-scale operation against the guerrilla base at Kara-meh, on the East Bank...

...Finally, there is Jordan...

...that is, it would not provoke widespread resistance...

...Since that time, Palestinian activists of all tendencies have had to navigate the treacherous shoals of inter-Arab politics, and the fortunes of Palestinian leaders have very much depended on the benevolence, and survival, of various Arab patrons...

...Ask the politicians...

...Its nodal point is an almost unanimous desire to end the Israeli occupation...

...Even more damaging in PLO eyes was the presumption of these people to speak on behalf of West Bank Palestinians, a role which the organizations had already arrogated to themselves...

...And if the current diplomatic process breaks down, the large reservoir of sympathy for the PLO could once again be tapped by West Bank politicians...

...The PLO, in short, has satisfied a longing for distinctiveness in expression, action, and recognition...

...For these reasons, most West Bankers would hesitate to endorse a solution to which the Government of Jordan was unequivocally opposed, and they are, by the same token, reluctant to support spokesmen who are unreservedly hostile to the Jordanian regime...

...Enthusiasm for the PLO has always been tempered by skepticism concerning its ability to end the occupation, and West Bankers who support the PLO primarily because it is the purest incarnation of "Pales-tinianism" also tend to reinterpret its posture in accordance with their own notions of what Palestinians should do...

...Hussein was excluded by pan-Arab politics, the "third-force" was quiescent, and the other Arab states still clung to the Rabat formula...

...These benefits have not endeared Israel to West Bankers or produced any discernible opinion in favor of political incorporation or perpetuation of the occupation, but they have created a sizeable constituency in the West Bank in favor of continuing economic association after the occupation ends...

...Karim Khalaf, for example, who purports to follow PLO direction, has publicly stated that, after withdrawal, "we would have no objection to normal relations with Israel...

...6. "It's all up to the Americans and the Russians...

...But the macropolitical significance of these bodies—their relation to the larger question of the political future of the West Bank as a whole—is much less certain...

...One of the heaviest burdens of Israeli occupation has been the endless horde of investigators—some professional and some very amateur— tramping through homes and offices, accepting endless cups of coffee, asking endless, often naive questions designed to find out who these leaders are and what they are thinking...

...And changing circumstances are likely to elicit more forthright expressions of opinion from these circles...

...role...

...Many of them were already out of favor with the regime in Amman, and the "Palestine entity" was the logical expression of their desire not to be reincorporated by Jordan...

...For most of the period since 1967, prudence imposed a measure of indirection on Hussein's supporters...

...Since a large measure of West Bank autonomy is also being proposed, the "third-force" is again being heard as well...

...If current peace efforts go forward, the most probable outcome for the West Bank is a quasi-independent entity, subject to strong Jordanian influence...

...In the West Bank itself, the main function of political elites after 1948 has been to mediate the relationships between local constituencies and central governments (Jordanian or Israeli), but the power of those elites to demand has inevitably been less than the power of the governments to deny...

...There is probably less enthusiasm for this within the land-owning and employing class of the West Bank...

...for whom the PLO embodies a social ethos as well as a national vision, these men are not mere ciphers, and their status is not just a reflection of the PLO's position in the Arab world...

...Their composition and operation are important aspects of local politics...

...3. "Only those who have lived under the occupation know reality, and they should speak for the West Bank...

...Many of those now identified with Hussein have held important positions in the Jordanian Government, or are related to people who do, or have extensive financial interests on the East Bank...

...Almost all West Bankers have close relatives living on the East Bank, and Amman is the largest Palestinian city in the world...

...For one thing, their "Palestine entity" was to be secured through agreement with Israel (in fact, much of their argument was directed at Israeli public opinion), and it entailed the abandonment of maximal PLO objectives—the destruction of Israel and the creation of a "democratic secular state" in all of pre-1948 Palestine...

...Ever since the failure of Arab General Strike in 1936, Palestinians have not only been unable to prevail over their main adversaries—the British and the Jews—but even to resist the smothering embrace of the Arab states implicated in the defense of their cause...

...That judgment is probably premature...

...The fortunes of West Bank notables have often been eclipsed by events in the wider Arab world, but Arab politics can change with startling suddenness...

...In concrete terms, it means some structural outlet for the frustrated political ambitions of the West Bank elite...

...The most outspoken advocate of the "Palestine entity" has been Aziz Shehadeh, a prominent Ramallah attorney...

...A common thread running through the entire range of opinion on the West Bank is the assumption that its fate will ultimately be determined, not by the preferences of West Bankers themselves, but rather by the decisions of more powerful actors in the conflict— Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and the superpowers...

...In fact, there are hints that the two elements might make common cause...

...In 1967, many people withheld support because they suspected an imminent deal that would return Hussein to the West Bank...

...But when there is any sense of movement, people are also reluctant to remain uncommitted, for fear that their adherence to the "winning" faction will be too late to be properly appreciated...

...Family interest, and even self-preservation, undoubtedly played a part in all this, but it is unfair to ignore other factors as well, including a paternalistic sense of responsibility for the West Bank, and the absence of practical alternatives...

...At this point, Hussein's claim to the West Bank seemed to evaporate...

...There is, however, a desire to modify the nature of that connection...

...Can order be made of this chaos...

...The group which met with Sadat in Jerusalem to "bless' his peace efforts included Hussein's supporters (Mustapha Dawdin, the former Agriculture Minister from Hebron, Mayor Ilyas Freij of Bethlehem, Anwar al-Khatib, and Nairn Abd al-Hadi, the former District Governor and Senator from Nablus), as well as a "third-force" leader (Aziz Shehadeh), and a powerful notable from Nablus (the former Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Hikmat al-Masri), who has straddled both camps...

...Nevertheless, its ideas have a compelling logic and a not inconsiderable measure of tacit support...

...In the West Bank, however, such conventional political analysis is stymied by the lack of legitimate selection...

...there is probably even less sympathy for the position of some guerrilla organizations that seek the liberation of the West Bank merely as the first stage in a continuing struggle against Israel itself...

...But the relative prominence of those individuals does not reflect the distribution of deeply-held loyalties as much as the generalized perceptions of current political constellations, i.e., of what West Bankers believe is about to be done to them by the major actors in the conflict...

...The Gaza Strip has been consigned by history and geography to the role of passive onlooker, and Gaza politics will not be treated here...

...Meanwhile, the organizations themselves have suffered a severe setback in Lebanon, the Carter Administration has decided to draw a distinction between the Palestinians and the PLO, and President Sadat has openly questioned the continued validity of the Rabat formula...

...4. "King Hussein is my leader...

...It does, however, mean that the contending approaches are not as sharply delineated as their labels might imply, and that ideological convictions are not as firmly rooted as the terminology of political rhetoric might suggest...

...During particular phases of anti-Hussein sentiment (after "Black September," during the "federation plan" furor of 1972, at the PLO's moment of glory in October-November of 1974, during and after the 1976 elections), they revealed themselves by what they failed to say, by their conspicuous absence from the chorus of approval for the PLO...

...Many businessmen have extensive interests in the East Bank, including Jordanian currency (dinar) accounts, productive enterprises, real estate, and corporate shares...

...Since Sadat clearly envisages some future role for Jordan, supporters of Hussein have already begun to "come out of the closet...

...There are, to be sure, elected municipal councils and chambers of commerce in most towns...

...5) some political formula that provides a symbolic expression of Palestinian identity and a means of satisfying the aspirations of leading individuals to high office...

...It is within this general context that the question of West Bank representation must be viewed...

...West Bank politics are fluid, and shifting coalitions are the norm...

...As its presence in Jordan became more and more assertive, pro-PLO West Bankers grew in number and felt freer to proclaim their sentiments...

...Instead of referring to the King by name, they emphasized the unity of the two Banks...

...In Nablus and Hebron, two young men who also headed pro-PLO lists, Bassam ash-Shaka'a and Fahd Kawasme, won impressive victories, after their more illustrious but circumspect predecessors, Ma'azuz al-Masri and Muhammad Ali al-Ja'abari, were compelled by the mood of the times to withdraw their candidacies...

...Unlike PLO partisans at the margins of West Bank society (refugees, lower-middle-class schoolteachers and journalists, radical high school students, etc...

...But if the process continues, and if it admits West Bankers into the search for a settlement that could end the occupation, those who now endorse the PLO's primacy might either be forced to adjust to new realities, or be supplanted by other leaders with different priorities and different perceptions of Palestinian choices...

...The largest concentrations of Palestinians live under Israeli control, either in Israel proper (about 500,000) or in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip (over 1,000,000...

...In 1968-69, the mayor of Nablus, Hamdi Kana'an, also experimented with the idea, and tried to upgrade the municipal council by coopting local dignitaries, in order to establish his authority to speak out on questions of "high-politics...

...Arab rule, as opposed to Israeli occupation...

...More significantly, the desire for West Bank autonomy is not wholly incompatible with the various federal or confederal schemes propounded by Jordan, and endorsed by Israel, Egypt and the United States...

...This would hardly be the first time in this century that Palestinian leadership was shaped by outside forces and events...

...The families have since been transformed from a semi-feudal aristocracy into a mercantile bourgeoisie, but their wealth, their far-flung contacts, and the traditional dependence and deference of the settled population continue to place them at the forefront of public life in the West Bank...

...During the 1950's and early 1960's, Hussein was the bete-noire of radical pan-Arabism, and since 1967, allegiance to Hussein has been portrayed as the antithesis of Palestinian consciousness...

...This is particularly true of the leading notables...

...There is, of course, no lack of self-proclaimed candidates for the Mark Heller is Professor of Political Science at the University of California...

...But when the PLO was driven out of the East Bank in 1970-71, West Bankers, after some initial expressions of disgust at "Bedouin savagery," readjusted to the prospect of continued Hash-emite rule in the East Bank and influence in the West...

...The successes of PLO-oriented candidates in those elections were striking...

...The 1976 elections reflected a genuine upsurge of emotional identification with the PLO, but the implications for the future are by no means unambiguous...

...Finally, Transjordan is, and will remain, the West Bank's avenue of physical, economic, and cultural access to the rest of the Arab world...

...There are, certainly, some political activists with well-defined orientations and points of view...

...Leading contenders for power, position, prestige, and the right to represent continue to come from a narrow, privileged stratum of the population...

...But as the prospect of change becomes more imminent, the stakes of political identification, and the risks of error, continue to mount...

...Among these families, as among the population as a whole, opinion on preferred futures for the West Bank is naturally divided...

...Nevertheless, this class as a whole does have a vested interest in social and economic stability that would surely be threatened by a sudden and complete decoupling of the West Bank from Israel...

...Much of the credit for this performance went to the guerrillas, and after Karameh, the PLO's stock in the Arab world soared...

...for the next 18-24 months, the moral authority of the PLO in the West Bank was virtually unchallenged...

...2. "The PLO has the right to speak for us, but they should consult us when they do...

...As one West Banker has explained, "There seemed no place else to go...

...One month later, the PLO was granted observer status at the United Nations, and Yasir Arafat made his triumphal appearance before the General Assembly...

...3) continued interaction with Israel after the occupation...

...4) harmonious ties with Jordan...

...possible peace, as opposed to perpetual conflict...

...Economic, dislocation aside, such a policy would incur the wrath of whichever Arab states had subscribed to the settlement, and it would certainly provoke Israeli retaliation...

...If Jordan, Egypt, and Israel, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States, but opposed by the PLO, do reach such an agreement, then the role of Palestinian representative would inevitably devolve upon those in the West Bank prepared to be its advocates...

...The "third-force" is still too weak to stand on its own, but if some formula approximating the "Palestine entity" is agreed to by Bank leadership, especially if some of the really prominent dignitaries who have discreetly flirted with variations on this theme—men such as Hikmat al-Masri of Nablus and Muhammad Ali al-Ja'abari of Hebron—are encouraged by a favorable configuration of external forces to declare themselves...

...the availability of alternative sources of employment in Israel puts upward pressure on local wage-levels...

...This does not mean that West Bank politicians are necessarily more cynical than politicians elsewhere, although there is certainly no dearth of opportunists...

...Instead, they are generally men from prominent families, well-educated, prosperous, with considerable first- or secondhand experience in public affairs...

...It would be an exaggeration to say that the politics of the area is totally monopolized by a few dozen well-placed families, but it is true that the great notable clans of Palestinian society continue to provide a disproportionate number of the region's government officials, political luminaries, high civil servants, religious dignitaries, mayors, judges, free professionals, wealthy businessmen and big landowners...

...there are many others who still fear the consequences of defying the PLO or who have yet to be convinced of the need to do so...

...Personal links are strong...

...Israel's intentions vis-a-vis Jordan or the local leadership are at least arguable...

...One such change is President Sadat's initiative...

...And in view of all that has happened since then, a simple reversion of the West Bank to its prior status would fail to meet the demand for some distinctive political expression of Palestinian national consciousness...

...However, a "third force" also exists, spearheaded by advocates of the so-called "Palestine entity" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip...

...But their meaning was usually clear...

...But underlying these divisions is a surprising degree of consensus on the overall contours of a settlement...

...As far as the PLO is concerned, there is no doubt that it has tapped a deep well-spring of emotional support...

...To significant circles in the West Bank, however, Hussein represents other, more appealing values—order, as opposed to anarchy...

...In symbolic terms, satisfying this demand implies some attributes of independence—a Palestinian flag, a passport, and a national anthem...

...It was only after the October War that the PLO regained its former eminence...

...Another factor is the personal background of these pro-PLO mayors...

...The same considerations continue to inform the attitudes of leading notables today...

...The assumption is grounded in historical experience...

...It is their opinions which carry weight and their support which is sought by outside actors and if any West Bankers do come forward to speak for the region in future negotiations, it is almost certainly from the ranks of these families that such spokesmen will emerge...

...In the past, the price has ranged from verbal abuse and psychological intimidation through economic deprivation and the destruction of property up to physical assault, mysterious disappearance, and assassination...

...2) a peaceful settlement...

...On the other hand, a great many West Bankers have benefited from economic ties with Israel...

...But the notables, the PLO, and King Hussein (in a rare moment of unanimity) all denounced his efforts, and he was forced to resign...

...Their nationalist credentials are above reproach, but they have been brought up to expect prominence and public responsibility, and they must be somewhat unnerved by the possibility of a PLO regime in the West Bank, in which the leading positions would be pre-empted by PLO functionaries, many of them with no historical roots in the region...

...In the ensuing two decades, an intricate network of mutually beneficial ties grew up between the political elites of the two Banks, and it soon incorporated members of the Husayni faction as well (the Nusaybas, for example, had been affiliated with the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin...

...But as traditional opinion-leaders, they also had something to "sell," and Abdallah relied on their prestige and status to legitimize his own rule on the West Bank...

...Students, professors, journalists, diplomats, perhaps even a few real spies—all have been received with infinite patience, unfailing courtesy, and the barely-suppressed conviction that all this foolishness is but the latest in a long series of misfortunes to be endured and overcome...

...These men publicized their ideas in the local media, in the now-defunct London monthly, New Middle East, and in interviews with Israeli and foreign reporters...

...Some of the Palestinians are bad men...

...But whatever sympathy may exist for the PLO, the extent of public commitment to it (hence, the standing of its avowed supporters in the West Bank) has tended to fluctuate with the changing fortunes of the PLO in the wider Arab world...

...her refusal to deliver up any part of the West Bank to the PLO, or to deal with it in any other way, is categorical...

...There has always been a premium here on caution, partly for fear of backing "the wrong horse," partly out of conviction that nothing West Bankers said or did would make much difference anyway...

...The proverbial Arab reputation for hospitality is fully deserved, but never has it been so sorely tested as in the West Bank since 1967...

...Jordan is an important market for West Bank goods and a major source of investment funds, salaries, "foreign" remittances, pensions, etc...

...The minimal consequence would be to turn the West Bank into a battlefield...

...As a result, a second point of consensus emerges, namely, that a change in the present status of the West Bank be part of a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, one that would permit some measure of continued human interaction between the West Bank and Israel...

...The resulting atmosphere of excitement, anticipation and unrest in the West Bank continued through May 1976, when municipal elections were held...

...Diplomatic efforts to finesse the question of Palestinian representation have revived the fortunes of the "third-force...

...And if perceptions of imminent Jordanian influence are widespread, that claim will be as justifiable as any claim in West Bank politics can be...

...As a result, their ideas were contemptuously dismissed and they were castigated as traitors and defeatists...

...entreprenurial opportunity, as opposed to a command economy...

...In the peculiar circumstances of Spring 1976, those who wanted to oppose the occupation and/or express their Palestinian consciousness turned to the YLO, faute de mieux...

...8. "Everything is in God's hands...

...But these elements together comprise only 15 to 20 percent of the Palestinian people...

...Some militants could continue to resist, but the larger body of floating opinion and loyalty would once again follow history, not lead it...

...When political preferences are expressed, they are therefore often qualified so as to garner credit from one quarter while avoiding alienation of another and reserving judgment on a third...

...A resumption of the Jordanian connection would therefore be acceptable to large segments of the population...