Staunch critic of Abbas and the PA leadership escapes assassination attempt
Abbas orders inquiry into incident in which four shots fired at car of Hasan Khraisheh, an independent elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPalestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas talks during a news conference in Egypt(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday ordered the formation of a commission of inquiry into the attempt on the life of Hasan Khraisheh, an independent elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.Khraisheh, a staunch critic of Abbas and the PA leadership, said that his car was shot by four bullets during the assassination attempt.Khraisheh was not harmed in the incident, which took place shortly after he left his home in the village of Dhanaba in the Tulkarm area.Khraisheh said that the shooting incident was aimed at killing him and not sending a message of warning.No group claimed responsibility for the shooting attack and Khraisheh refused to blame any party or individual.The attack on Khraisheh is the second of its kind in the past few weeks.In Nablus last month, another outspoken critic of the PA and Abbas, professor Abdel Sattar Qassem, said he too was the target of an assassination attempt. Qassem said that three masked gunmen opened fire at his car outside his home and fled the scene. He was not hurt in the incident.
