Middle East Monitor / April 13, 2021
A number of unknown gunmen opened fire on the house of a candidate for the Palestinian legislative election in Al-Khalil-Hebron on Monday morning, local news agencies have reported. Hatem Shaheen is standing on the “Future” list which is loyal to former Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan. He was not hurt in the attack.
The election agent of the “Future” list, Ashraf Dahlan, condemned the incident, which happened at dawn yesterday. He called for the Palestinian police and security services, as well as for the Public Prosecutor, to open a criminal investigation into the attack as a matter of urgency. The candidate could have been killed, he pointed out.
“This kind of behaviour reflects an attempt to terrorise candidates, undermine democracy, spread security chaos, and impose certain outcomes upon the election,” he added. “Every voter should be protected by the PA to enable all to elect their chosen representatives.”
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, also condemned the incident. This was an attempt to undermine the election process, said the movement, as well as to put obstacles in the way of the efforts to hold transparent elections in occupied Palestine this year.
