Cablegate: Mggz01 - Jerusalem August 14 Sitrep

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DE RUEHJM #3596 2261425
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O 141425Z AUG 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4217
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 003596

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SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS, USAID
FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG PHUM
SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 14 SITREP

1. (SBU) Summary. Low level violence in Gaza continued
over the weekend, August 11-13, with no reported Qassam
rocket fire. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claimed
responsibility for the firing of two rockets on August 14
from northern Gaza toward Ashkelon. Israeli media reported
some light injuries but no damage. The IAF responded with
rocket fire into northern Gaza, killing three Palestinians.
In the West Bank, the IDF conducted operations near Jenin
overnight August 11-12, resulting in arrests but no reported
injuries. PIJ gunmen summarily executed August 13 a
suspected Palestinian collaborator in connection with the
August 9 Israeli air strike in the Jenin refugee camp that
killed two PIJ activists, including the head of the PIJ
military wing in Jenin. The Rafah crossing remains closed on
August 14. End summary.

Military Developments
---------------------

2. (SBU) Overall violence in the Gaza Strip continued at
low levels during the weekend of August 11-13. There were no
reported Qassam rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. PIJ
militants, however, launched two rockets on August 14 from
northern Gaza in the direction of Ashkelon. One rocket
landed near Ashkelon's industrial zone which resulted in some
light injuries -- mostly shock -- but no property damage.
The IAF responded with rocket fire into northern Gaza at
suspected rocket launch sites, killing three Palestinians,
reportedly Palestinian farmers working in fields near Beit
Hanoun. Three Palestinian civilians were injured August 13
by Israeli tank and naval fire in the vicinity of Jabaliya
refugee camp and Beit Hanoun. Several Israeli tanks and
other IDF vehicles entered August 12 the al-Jaradat
neighborhood near Rafah to conduct land clearing. There were
no reported clashes or injuries during the operation.
Egyptian security forces on August 12 destroyed a tunnel used
for weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza.

3. (SBU) In the West Bank, the IDF conducted raids into
villages near Jenin in search of suspected militants,
arresting two Fatah activists in Qabatiyah village the
evening of August 11. IDF soldiers shot and wounded on
August 12 a Palestinian youth who attempted to circumvent the
Zatara checkpoint south of Nablus. The IDF arrested five
Palestinians overnight August 13-14 in Ramallah, Nablus, and
Jenin. PIJ gunmen summarily executed August 13 a suspected
Palestinian collaborator in connection with the August 9
Israeli air strike in the Jenin refugee camp that killed two
PIJ activists, including the head of the PIJ military wing in
Jenin.

Humanitarian Update
-------------------

4. (SBU) The Rafah crossing is closed August 14, as it
was August 12 and 13, according to USAID Gaza-based staff.
Rafah was open August 10 and 11 for departures from Gaza
only, enabling approximately 4000 people to depart Gaza into
Egypt.

5. (SBU) The Karni/al-Mintar and Nahal Oz crossings are
open August 14, as they were August 13, according to USAID
Gaza-based staff. Both Karni/al-Mintar and Nahal Oz
crossings were closed August 12, as usual, for the Jewish
Sabbath. The Karni/al-Mintar crossing processed 118
truckloads into Gaza on August 11, the last date for which
throughput information is available. According to USAID
calculations, there is only a two-day supply of wheat flour
remaining in Gaza, the lowest level since IDF military
operations commenced in Gaza in late June.

6. (SBU) All ten electricity feeder lines from Israel
into Gaza are operational on August 14, according to USAID
Gaza-based staff.

DUFFY

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