Ref: 91/2022

Date: 22 July 2022

Time: 09:00 GMT

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the heinous assault on the former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Education, Dr. Nasser Al-Din Al-Sha’er, who was directly shot yesterday evening by gunmen in Nablus, north of the West Bank, wounding him with several live bullets. PCHR calls upon public prosecution to investigate this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.   

According to PCHR’s investigations and journalist Nawaf al-‘Amer’s statement to PCHR’s fieldworker, at approximately 17:45 on Friday, 22 July 2022, when Dr. Nasser Al-Din Al-Sha’er, a lecturer at al-Najah University and the former Deputy Prime Minster in the tenth Palestinian Government, was driving his white Hyundai Santa Fe SUV along with journalist Nawaf al-‘Amer in central Kafr Qallil village in Nablus, a civilian vehicle travelled by two masked gunmen intercepted them. One of the gunmen ordered al-Sha’er to step out of the SUV, but the latter refused. Afterwards, one of the gunmen opened fire at al-Sha’er, wounding him in his right leg. Despite his injury, al-Sha’er continued driving tens of meters away until he reached the village main intersection, where the gunmen stopped him again and directly opened fire at him, wounding him with 5-6 bullets in his legs. As a result, Al-Sha’er was taken to An-Najah Hospital in Nablus.

Later, the Spokesperson of the Palestinian Security Services, Major General Talal Dweikat, stated that by order of the President, security services carried out the Palestinian President’s order regarding the shooting at al-Sha’er, as the President issued orders to open an immediate investigation into the incident, prosecute the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Moreover, the shooting incident was condemned by the Palestinian President and the Palestinian Cabinet.

PCHR is gravely concerned over the shooting at al-Sha’er and warns of using weapons to settle political issues. Also, PCHR expresses its concern over the growing phenomenon of security chaos in the West Bank and shooting by masked gunmen in recurrent incidents.

PCHR calls upon public prosecution to open a serious investigation into this crime and into all crimes relevant to assault on the rule of law and urges the Palestinian government to take effective measures to stop security chaos that threatens the right to life, rule of law and Palestinian civil peace. 

PCHR calls upon the Palestinian Authority to take all the serious measures to put an end to the state of proliferation of weapons, including promptly imposing the rule of law, in order to maintain civil peace.