Critical Essays on Israeli Society, Politics, and Culture: Books on Israel, Volume II

12. Palestinian Leadership on the West Bank

Elie Rekhess Palestinian Leadership on the West Bank Emile Sahliyeh. In Search ofLeadership: West Bank Politics since 1967. Washington: The Brookings Institution. 1988. Emile Sahliyeh's In Search of Leadership: West Bank Politics since 1967 is a timely publication. It sheds light on a region which, since the eruptionofthe Palestinian Intifada in December 1987, has become an important focus ofworld attention. Sahliyeh's book systematically examines the basic characteristics of West Bank politics, the role played by the major internal and external actors involved, and the central patterns of political behavior which have evolved since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. In the first ofeight chapters, ''The Palestinian Question," the author identifies two factors which, he argues, reduced the central role of the traditional urban elite in West Bank politics: the vulnerability of local politicians to outside pressures, and the emergence of"mass politics," defined by Sahliyeh as the political effect of socio-economic mobility. The second chapter of the book deals with the absence of an autonomous West Bank leadership. The author describes the conditions prevalent under Jordanian rule 194 Critical Essays on Israeli Society. Politics. and Cultw-e and explores how they prevented the consolidation ofindependent local bases of power. Among these circumstances were J ordan's co-option ofPalestinian interests. the ban on overt political activity. the fragmentation of West Bank power. and control of the opposition. After 1967. the three main political forces directly concerned with the political future of the area- Israel, Jordan and the PLO- alljointly prohibited local political initiatives. although each was motivated by a variety of conflicting interests. Chapters 3 and 4 describe the interplay between the poliCies ofthe three external powers and the behavior of the two major political groupings formulated in the West Bank after 1967: the pro-Hashimites. supporters of King Hussein. and the pro-PW Circles. supporters ofPalestinian nationalism. These two chapters follow a primarily chronological sequence. They describe the first organizational frameworks set up after the June war (the Islamic Supreme Council and the Higher Committee for National Guidance). the attempts to promote the notion of an autonomous Palestinian entity. the repercussions of the 1970 civil war in Jordan. the 1972 municipal elections. the gradual decline in the influence of traditional pro-Jordanian leadership . the PW's assumption of leadership. the establishment ofthe Palestine National Front (PNF) in 1973. the 1976 municipal elections. and the creation and activity of the National Guidance Committee (NGC) between 1978 and 1982. Referring to the related works of Maoz. Lesch. Mishal and others. Sahliyeh presents a concise and coherent account ofthe major developments. Yet he repeatedly emphasizes the impact of socio-economic change on the national awakening ofthe local Palestinian community. Throughout the book he highlights the growth of higher education. exposure to media. organization oflabor. and social stratification as key factors in the rise of new socio-political forces. The limited class interest of traditional elites accounted for their politicalweakness. With the opening ofthe Palestinian Leadership on the West Bank 195 Israeli market. Sahliyeh further comments. West Bank workers were no longer dependent on the West Bank business and commercial class. Land and capital. the two main vehicles for the traditional politicians' authority. lost some oftheir importance as well as their ability to appeal to local workers. The author bases some ofhis observations on interviews conducted with West Bank mayors and members of the National Guidance Committee (NGC). Some of the mayors confirm that the PLO indeed had given advance approval for their decision to run for election in 1976. Comparably. he reveals the power struggle which evolved between Fathsupporting members of the NGC and their left-wing adversaries . Sahliyeh mentions only briefly the Village ~agues established "under Menachem Milson's guidance" (p. 85) in 1982. Since it reflects the most serious. perhaps singular. attempt to encourage the rural hinterland to build an organized village leadership of its own. the issue seems to deserve a more comprehensive discussion than allotted in the book. The Village Leagues. the first of which was founded in Hebron already in 1977. were intended to curb the political influence of the more radical urban political quarters to constitute groupings potentially willing to join the autonomy talks. Despite their efforts. however. the Village Leagues failed to pave the road for autonomous rural leadership. mainly because of their political orientation. which was sharply condemned by pro-Jordanian and PLO supporters alike. The more...