ABSTRACT
The April 1976 elections campaign was clearly characterized by the strong determination of the nationalist elements in the West Bank fully to participate in, and win, the elections. Even the pro-Jordanian moderate mayors, like Qawasma and Freij, were bound to radicalize their political positions publicly, as a result of the Israeli policies regarding Jewish settlements and following the ventures of the Jewish militant groups in the West Bank. Unlike Israel, which treated the newly-elected nationalist mayors with great reservation, Jordan encouraged them right from the beginning to seek its help and cooperation. The PLO leadership was obviously deeply concerned or even alarmed, because of these semi-independent and critical attitudes of West Bank mayors towards its authority, their pro-Jordanian tendencies, and because of their cooperation with Israel in calming down public demonstrations in their towns. The PLO was specially interested in providing material assistance to the West Bank mayors, in order to diminish their financial dependence both on Israel and Jordan.
