| "Amr's been shot. Round up the usual suspects!" |
"But Inspector, that will just create a tempting target for the Zionist missiles!"
"You're right, Legume, leave the usual suspects be." |
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Wednesday ordered an investigation into the shooting of a key critic of his unrelenting grip on power as Palestinian officials warned of dire consequences for law and order in their territory. Nabil Amr, a lawmaker seriously wounded 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. An advocate of reforms for years, Amr had increased his criticism of Arafat in recent days as the leader refused to relax his control over security forces. Palestinian officials condemned the shooting and warned of serious ramifications. A spate of kidnappings and riots plunged the West Bank and Gaza Strip into turmoil in recent days, leading to a reshuffling of the Palestinian security forces and the resignation of the prime minister. "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." |