ABU GHOSH (May 17) - At first glance the area just past the mosque and church in the center of Abu Ghosh seems an unlikely place to hear the battle cry of the Shas Party.

Yet on the eve of the elections yesterday, two Arab teenagers, spotting a visitor to the area, called out: "He is innocent, he is innocent."

Given the dozens of posters showing Shas leader Aryeh Deri's face framed by the tablets of the Ten Commandments, there could be no doubt who they were talking about.

It was less clear, however, whether the youths were sincere or simply making fun of an election campaign that has bombarded them with the same posters and slogans as nearby Jewish towns.

One youngster, who could not have been more than seven years old, whirled around Salaam Street on a rusty bicycle, screaming, "only Barak."

Still, even critics of Shas here concede that when it comes to the elections, the party is no joke.

Using its control over funding to local governments through the Interior Ministry, Shas has in recent years developed a patronage and support network in Abu Ghosh.

In the 1996 elections, 120 out of 3,000 eligible voters supported Shas, according to local council official Issa Jaaber. This time, an increase is expected, because Shas has become better known in the town, predicts Jaaber.

He says he is not a Shas supporter, although he enjoys good relations with the party.

"There are some people who believe in them, but don't forget that Shas is still considered an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party," he said. "What made us close to Shas is that Shas was able to understand more than the others the problem of the Arab sector and give support with more budgeting."

Funding disbursed by the Shas-controlled Interior Ministry made possible the building of a sewerage system, roads, and offices for the local council, he said.

Nimr Jaaber, a Shas activist from the same extended family as Issa, says he feels no affinity for party spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and termed the convicted Deri "a criminal."

But, he adds, the party offers more to Abu Ghosh than any other. "They fulfill their promises, they don't just show up two days before the elections; they are here all the time asking about our problems," he says.

According to Shas MK Raphael Pinhasi, the party "corrects the discrimination [Arabs have faced] and gives them a status of equals. We have proven ourselves. Arabs received more from Shas than from any other party during the previous 40 years, whether it was the National Religious Party or Labor."

Critics of Shas, however, say it has done little for Abu Ghosh beyond what it was required to do, and is backed by only a small number of people with vested interests in its success, most of them in the Jaaber family.

"Shas is laughing at us. They think they can just give us some bribes for some votes," says Rashad Ibrahim, a fruit vendor who supports the Center Party.