ABSTRACT
The newly elected Parliament composed of both local inhabitants and refugees, ratified the union at its first meeting on 24 April, 1950. A new Senate was nominated, half of it made up of Palestinians; and a new Government, which included Palestinian refugees and non-refugees, was selected. Abdullah, assisted by the privileged classes, tried to cement his position by erasing any sense of separate Palestinian identity. The centralized civil law gave the monarch the power required to govern, leaving him completely unaccountable and allowing little scope for an effective opposition. The Jordanian Government realized that if it wanted to speak and act on behalf of the Palestinians there had to be no restriction of movement. On the whole, the Trans-Jordanians looked down on the refugees with massive contempt. This was especially true in the south where the local population was more conservative, and where there were even fewer employment opportunities to attract refugees.
