(Ha'aretz) Jack Khoury - Last week's local elections were marked in Israeli Arab communities by greater violence. Turan, Sakhnin, Tuba-Zangaria, Kafr Kana, Lakiya and Hura all experienced gunfire and property damage. In Kalansua, the leading mayoral candidate quit the race due to death threats against himself and his family. Nohad Ali, a sociologist at Western Galilee College, noted the waning influence of clans, as reflected in multiple mayoral candidates from the same clan running in the same town. Moreover, most of the tickets were independent rather than affiliated with a national party. 20 women won seats on city councils, and another 6 will be seated later under rotation agreements. In the four Druze communities in the Golan Heights, elections ultimately never took place in Masadeh and in Buqata due to public pressure, while in Majdal Shams and Ein Kinya, turnout did not exceed 2%.
2018-11-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive