Director of Qalansawe Municipality shot, seriously wounded

The director-general of the Qalansawe Municipality in central Israel, Ashraf Khatib, has been seriously wounded by gunshots sustained while he was in his car.

Magen David Adom paramedics take the 46-year-old Khatib to Beilinson hospital, sedated and on a respirator.

Police say they have opened an investigation and are probing the background of the incident.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri speaks with Qalansawe Mayor Abdel Basset al-Salama, calling the incident an “attempted assassination.”

He says the incident constitutes the “crossing of a red line” and vows to step up the fight against rampant criminal violence in the Arab Israeli community.

מנכ"ל עיריית קלנסווה אשרף חטיב,
נפצע קשה, בעקבות ירי לרכבו.
ככה נראה ניסיון חיסול. pic.twitter.com/BbSU8kcs2t

— אסף גבור assaf gibor (@assafgibor) March 6, 2021