Israel’s new policy of appointing Arab mayors in major West Bank towns was completed Wednesday when the civil administration for the territory installed Taher Hijazi as Mayor of Anabta in the northern Samaria district.
He replaces former Mayor Wahid Hamdallah who was removed by the Israeli authorities four years ago for failure to cooperate. The Anabta municipality was shut down at the time. Its revival under Hijazi was accompanied by a check for $90,000 deposited with the civil administration to cover unpaid taxes.
In addition to Anabta, Arab mayors now preside in Hebron, Ramallah and El Bireh where they replaced Israeli military officers who had been running the towns. All of the appointments were made with the approval of the Jordanian government.
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