Arab Mayor Has One of The Toughest, Most Sensitive Jobs Under Israeli Occupation

Zafer Masri is too rich to be bribed, too smart to be a quisling and too well-connected to be frightened, an Israeli expert on the West Bank commented the other day.

Add to that his stated lack of long-term political ambition, and Masri, a Palestinian businessman, would seem to be the perfect candidate for one of the toughest and most sensitive jobs in this disputed territory lying at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

All this helps explain why Masri was officially installed last month as mayor here in the largest and one of the most volatile cities on the West Bank of the Jordan River. The burden of his job was underlined a week ago, when an Israeli border policeman was shot to death and another was wounded in an ambush in the middle of town.

1st Arab Mayor Since ’82

Masri is the first Arab mayor of Nablus since 1982, when the occupation authorities deposed his predecessor and put an Israeli military officer in charge. Thousands of happy residents stood in the rain to welcome him at his swearing-in ceremony.

But not everyone is pleased. Critics, including deposed Mayor Bassam Shakaa, argue that by accepting the job, Masri is only helping Israel implement a scheme of limited autonomy for the West Bank as an alternative to genuine independent nationhood for the 4 million displaced Palestinians.

Masri conceded that he is on a hot spot. “I didn’t come to paradise when I took the mayor’s post,” he said after the Jan. 11 shooting. He added his regrets over the incident, which he said could “hinder our work” and “reflect badly on the town.”

Noting during an interview a few days earlier that he had committed himself to only one year in his new job, Masri commented, “What encouraged me is that it would be short-term.”

Reversing Deterioration

However, he added, he felt that a return of even limited municipal power to Arab hands could help reverse the deterioration of everyday life that has taken place over the past three years.

“I feel that if it is my power to do something, I should do it,” he said.

In the political struggle for control of the West Bank, the Arabs and the Israelis both regard the cities as critical. Israel has long deflected international criticism by depicting its military occupation of the area, which began after the Arab-Israel war of 1967, as one of the most benevolent in history. The coalition government formed 16 months ago under Prime Minister Shimon Peres pledged specifically to improve the quality of life on the West Bank.

The cities, however, “stand out as a major black spot on Israel’s record,” the English-language Palestinian weekly newspaper Al Fajr commented not long ago.

Supporters of PLO

In 1976, Israel permitted the free election of mayors and city councils in 25 West Bank towns. But the Israelis had immediate cause to regret the decision: In almost every election, the winner was a Palestinian nationalist who had publicly supported Israel’s avowed enemy, the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Israel canceled the next round of voting, scheduled for 1980, and between 1980 and 1982 it dismissed or deported more than half the mayors who had been elected in 1976.

In 1979, the authorities tried to deport Shakaa, then mayor of Nablus, for allegedly expressing approval of Palestinian terrorist acts in the course of a private conversation with the military administrator of the West Bank. But the order was reversed in the face of intense international pressure.

Six months later, Jewish extremists blew up Shakaa’s car, and he lost both legs above the knees. In 1982, he was dismissed and replaced by an Israeli army officer.

No Prospects of Change

Shakaa and other leading Palestinian nationalists have argued that if Israel is serious about improving the quality of life, it should relent and allow new elections. But the West Bank administrator, Shmuel Goren, said in an interview that there are no early prospects for a change of policy.

“We are sure,” Goren said, “that if we go to elections, the PLO by force will create problems in the area. We are not going to repeat the mistake we made in 1976.”

As an alternative, Israeli authorities have tried for more than a year to appoint new, more moderate Arab mayors in the four major West Bank towns still run by Israelis. Nablus is their first success, and Masri’s takeover here marked an important political milestone.

Masri said that he, too, would have preferred elections, but “at present I see that things are not ripe,” he said. “In a year’s time, maybe things will change.”

Doubtful He Would Run

Asked if he would run for mayor if there were elections, he said: “I don’t think so. . . . I have enough other commitments.”

Masri, 44, is head of the Nablus Chamber of Commerce and one of the wealthiest Palestinian businessmen on the West Bank. He is a cousin of Jordan’s foreign minister, Taher Masri.

Before he took over City Hall on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, Masri said, he was assured that he had at least passive support from both the PLO and the authorities in Jordan. Jordan controlled the West Bank before 1967 and still has a strong influence here.

“We didn’t get negative reaction from outside; that’s clear,” Masri said. “We are not going to work against the PLO, because we believe the PLO is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”

Return to Arab Hands

Both Masri and Goren, the Israeli administrator, said that if the experiment works out here, it could pave the way for a return to Arab hands of the other big West Bank cities--El Bireh, Hebron and Ramallah.

Masri said he has spent most of his time so far on financial and personnel matters. He added that he expects Jordan to resume the financial assistance to the city that was cut off when Shakaa was deposed and also to reallocate the funds that would have been paid out were the West Bank not in Israeli hands. Historically, outside Arab money funneled through Jordan has made up 30% to 60% of the city budget, Masri said.

He said “minimal” Israeli development budgets have left Nablus residents heavily taxed but with inadequate electrical and water service and a road network sorely in need of maintenance.

Offer of Old Jobs

In addition to retaining those Palestinian employees who served the Israeli mayor, Masri offered to rehire the workers--about three-quarters of the payroll--who walked out after Shakaa was deposed. So many have returned that City Hall is now overrun with about 1,000 employees--one for every 90 residents of the city and 20% more than usual.

Masri said he intends to reduce the staff. In the meantime, he said with a shrug, City Hall serves “as a social welfare department.”

Perhaps the major test ahead is how much influence Masri will have with the West Bank military administration on such issues as the reunification of divided Palestinian families, political prisoners and the continued functioning of Nablus’ often-closed An Najah University.

“There are cases that, if we succeed in avoiding confrontation, we will be able to help,” Masri said.