PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: wiki commons.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas ordered to “close the case” involving alleged sexual harassment by PA Civilian Affairs Minister Hussen Sheikh because it is “a sensitive time and we are facing elections,” the Jerusalem Post reported, citing Palestinian investigative journalist Said Ghazali.

Abbas, in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said to close the investigation until after he returns from the U.S.

“If the public learns about it, we will lose the [PA] presidential and municipal election,” Ghazali quoted Abbas as saying to two PA officials. “We already have enough scandals and don’t need more.”

Skeikh’s case came about when a Palestinian woman claimed that he called her to his office to fix a computer, but instead sexually harassed her, in addition to allegedly bribing her.