Yasser Arafat on Wednesday ordered an investigation into the shooting of a former minister and one of the PA president's main critics.
Nabil Amr, a lawmaker injured by a sniper's bullets, issued a plea for calm and hinted that someone was trying to silence him.
A sniper shot Amr in the West Bank city of Ramallah late Tuesday. In recent days, Amr had voiced strong criticism of Arafat's refusal to reform the Palestinian security apparatus.
Palestinian officials condemned the shooting and warned of serious ramifications. "If we can't restore public order and law...this will bring the greatest damage to the Palestinian people and their cause," said senior Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat. "It's the whole social fabric that is collapsing now."
According to The AP, Arafat instructed police to open an investigation into the matter, said the governor of Ramallah, Mustafa Eisa.
"This is proof that this curse must be stopped," Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said Wednesday about the recent violence, while on his way to visit Amr. "This is a blow to us all, not just to Nabil. This must be investigated and we will investigate."
In the shooting late Tuesday, a sniper fired four bullets from close range toward Amr from the open window of a balcony at his home in a wealthy Ramallah neighborhood, said his son, Tarek. Two bullets hit Amr in the leg. The former minister was evacuated to a hospital but lost a large amount of blood before his condition was stabilized, Tarek Amr added.
Doctors said Amr's right leg might need to be amputated below the knee since no muscle or nerves remained in the area.
"I call on all my supporters and friends to abstain from nervous reactions because there is internal turmoil in the Palestinian areas," Amr himself said in a statement.
"If the goal of this intent was to silence me, I want everybody to know I always believed in what I have said about devoting my efforts to see my Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
