Videos filmed on March 14, 2023 show armed supporters of the Palestinian political movement Fatah firing celebratory gunshots into the air in Hebron in the West Bank. The men were celebrating their party’s victory in student elections held at the city’s polytechnic university. However, this celebratory gunfire, a common occurrence during celebrations in the Middle East, hit a transformer, causing it to explode. Our Observer says the result could have been catastrophic.

It was a celebration that nearly ended in tragedy. Armed supporters of Fatah showed up en masse at the Hebron polytechnic university, where a student election was being held and fired multiple rounds of gunshots into the air during and after the vote.

A video shared on Twitter on March 14, 2023 captures the terrifying moment. You can hear bursts of gunfire and then an electrical wire hanging over the street catches fire, breaking and swinging dangerously over a road filled with cars and people

Before the explosion, civilians had already tried to get anyone bearing arms to leave.

“Will all armed people please immediately leave the area,” a person is heard saying into a microphone in another video.

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