Gunmen shoot at Ramallah mayor's car

[Behind the Aegis]

Unidentified gunmen fired shots at Ramallah Mayor Janet Mikhail's car while it was parked outside her office early Monday morning. They also fired at the municipality building and at the home of one of the mayor's senior aides. No one was wounded, but Mikhail's car was hit by several bullets.

A group of gunmen, some of them wearing masks, approached the municipality building and opened fire with automatic rifles at the mayor's car and office, eyewitnesses told The Jerusalem Post. The gunmen fled before Palestinian Authority policemen arrived at the scene.

Following the attacks, scores of municipality workers staged a sit-in strike in front of the municipality building, demanding that PA security forces take measures against the perpetrators. The workers complained that this was not the first such attack on the municipality building.

Local residents also complained that their city had become a safe haven for gangs and criminals who are intimidating them and extorting wealthy families. According to the residents, some of the gangsters introduce themselves as members of various PA security forces and Fatah.

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