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7 Local Politics: The Clan as an Alternative Stream As a result of the 1948 war and the establishment of Israel, the existing Arab local authorities were destroyed or totally paralyzed by the hostilities and the expulsion of some of the local leadership. When local government was consolidated in Israel after independence, the Arab municipal sector was extremely small. Most Arabs lived in villages that lacked municipal status. The village regime was based on the sociopolitical solidarity of families and on the traditional leadership, whose existence was legitimized by its social standing in the clan (hamula) and the community. This was reinforced by their ties with the authorities and the officials of the military government. This situation was advantageous for the authorities and ruling parties of that era, chiefly Mapai. They intervened, through the military governor and their representatives , in the proceedings in Arab localities, whether in the appointment of mukhtars or by granting favors to their allies, whether individuals or groups (Lustick 1985). The decision to grant municipal status rested with the minister of the interior, generally after consultation with the ministry official in charge of the population and with local figures (Weiss 1972, cited by Al-Haj and Rosenfeld 1990a, 29). The declared objective of policymakers was to develop Arab localities and improve the standard of living there. Accordingly they set to work to establish Arab local authorities. Between 1950 and 1954, Arab local councils that had existed under the mandatory government were revived. These included Shefa'amre, which had been granted municipal status as early as 1910, Nazareth (1877, renewed in 1934), and Kufr Yassif (1925). Eight other local authorities were set up (AI-Haj and Rosenfeld 1990, 29). Examination of the list of localities that were the first to acquire municipal status reveals that the decision to set up a local authority in a particular place was strongly influenced by considerations of size, 137 7 Local Politics: The Clan as an Alternative Stream As a result of the 1948 war and the establishment of Israel, the existing Arab local authorities were destroyed or totally paralyzed by the hostilities and the expulsion of some of the local leadership. When local government was consolidated in Israel after independence, the Arab municipal sector was extremely small. Most Arabs lived in villages that lacked municipal status. The village regime was based on the sociopolitical solidarity of families and on the traditional leadership, whose existence was legitimized by its social standing in the clan (hamula) and the community. This was reinforced by their ties with the authorities and the officials of the military government. This situation was advantageous for the authorities and ruling parties of that era, chiefly Mapai. They intervened, through the military governor and their representatives , in the proceedings in Arab localities, whether in the appointment of mukhtars or by granting favors to their allies, whether individuals or groups (Lustick 1985). The decision to grant municipal status rested with the minister of the interior, generally after consultation with the ministry official in charge of the population and with local figures (Weiss 1972, cited by AI-Haj and Rosenfeld 1990a, 29). The declared objective of policymakers was to develop Arab localities and improve the standard of living there. Accordingly they set to work to establish Arab local authorities. Between 1950 and 1954, Arab local councils that had existed under the mandatory government were revived. These included Shefa'amre, which had been granted municipal status as early as 1910, Nazareth (1877, renewed in 1934), and Kufr Yassif (1925). Eight other local authorities were set up (AI-Haj and Rosenfeld 1990, 29). Examination of the list of localities that were the first to acquire municipal status reveals that the decision to set up a local authority in a particular place was strongly influenced by considerations of size, 137 t38 The Palestinian-Arab Minority In Israel. t948-2000 location, and ethnic composition (AI-Haj and Rosenfeld 1990a, 29). The local governments set up during this period faced many problems. In most of them, the inhabitants were subject to the military government , which restricted their movement. Entire areas were proclaimed to be closed. Entering or leaving them required a permit from representatives of the military governor. During the first decade after independence , the mukhtars continued to be active, even in places where local councils had been set up. In many cases, mukhtars who did not play an active role in the administration of the council impeded its operations because they saw it as a...

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