Posted on 05/13/2002 4:19:43 PM PDT by knighthawk
The Fatah Reference Secretary in the West Bank, Hussein al Sheikh, speaking to Albawaba.com, confirmed that Palestinian cabinet minister Hassan Asfour was hospitalized Monday evening in a Ramallah hospital after five masked people beat him.
The identity of these people or their motives are unknown. Asfour, minister of nongovernmental organizations affairs, was taken to hospital with light injuries. "This is a cowardly and dirty assault against minister Asfour," Yasser Arafat's aide, Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, told Reuters at the hospital.
"The leadership considers this assault as a criminal act aimed against the Palestinian legitimacy and intended to create sedition among Palestinians," he said.
He said Arafat ordered Palestinian security forces to find the attackers and bring them to justice.
Moussa Abu Hmaid, head of government hospitals in the West Bank, said Asfour was in stable condition suffering from a fractured wrist and leg and a cut to the head. He said Asfour's bodyguard was also injured in the attack.
Earlier in the day Asfour told Reuters: "The Arab and international situation requires us all to act realistically ...and maybe there is a political necessity.
"Therefore, such (suicide) attacks should not continue."
Arafat promised this kind of response to stop Palestinian terror attacks against Israel. But now we see that he only rolls out these kinds of orders against traitors to the idea of pushing Israel into the sea.
Oops, nev-err mind.
They should've learned by now that violence begets violence...
Who were those masked men?
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