Abbas condemns assassination attempt on Hamas official in West Bank

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday strongly condemned the assassination attempt on Hamas official Dr Nasser Al-Din Al-Shaer in the occupied West Bank.

Al-Shaer was deputy prime minister and education minister in 2006 and 2007, following Hamas’s victory in the parliamentary elections.

Early on Friday, unknown assailants carried out a shooting attack against Al-Shaer in the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Al-Shaer, according to witnesses, was targeted by gunfire while leaving an engagement party in the village of Kafr Qallil, on the southern outskirts of Nablus.

He was moderately injured by live shots to the legs and admitted to a nearby hospital, where his condition was described as stable.

Abbas’s office said orders were issued to the relevant security services to open an immediate probe into the assault and to identify the assailants and bring them to justice.

The PA President also made a phone call to Al-Shaer, according to Wafa News Agency, and wished him a speedy recovery.

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