Shots fired at offices of People's Party candidate

Unidentified assailants fired shots last night at the Ramallah headquarters of Bassam al-Salhi, a Palestinian Authority presidential candidate and head of the People's Party, the former Communist party in the West Bank.

The shooting was the first violent act in the current Palestinian election campaign. Palestinian sources said the gunmen stood outside the building belonging to the party's agricultural assistance committees, in the Ramallah suburb of al-Bireh, and fired several shots with several activists inside.

Salhi was not in the headquarters at the time, but was campaigning in Nablus. His supporters said the bullets hit a wall, but no one was injured.

At the same time, a number of shots were fired at the home of Abdel-Jawad Sallah, a member of the Palestinian parliament and a former member of the People's Party. Palestinian sources said the incidents appeared to indicate an internal conflict among left-wing candidates.

In a surprise development yesterday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced it was supporting the candidacy of Mustafa Barghouti, the head of the National Democratic Initiative and chief opponent of Mahmoud Abbas. Until now, the PFLP had called on members to boycott the election.