Mukhtar

'chosen one';[1] Greek: μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule".

[1] According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures".

Some of the mukhtar’s duties included registering life events (births, marriages, etc.)

[3] Quoting Tore Björgo: "The mukhtar was, among other things, responsible for collecting taxes and ensuring that law and order was prevailing in his village".

These families derive their influence from overseeing businesses and have the allegiance of hundreds to thousands of relatives.