Cablegate: Mggz01 - Jerusalem August 17 Sitrep

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DE RUEHJM #3652 2291344
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O 171344Z AUG 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4290
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 003652

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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG
SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 17 SITREP

1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A 14-year old Palestinian was killed and
four others were injured as a result of fighting between
Fatah and Hamas militants in Gaza on August 16. A Hamas
activist was killed in Gaza City when a bomb he was building
exploded prematurely. Palestinian militants fired three
rockets from Gaza into the Western Negev, but there were no
reported injuries or property damage. In the West Bank, IDF
units overnight arrested 11 Palestinians. The Rafah and the
Karni/al-Mintar crossings are closed August 17, but the Nahal
Oz fuel transfer crossing is open. END SUMMARY.

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

2. (SBU) Inter-factional violence flared up in Gaza on
August 16, when Fatah gunmen and the Hamas-led Ministry of
Interior's "Executive Force" clashed in Khan Younis. A 14
year-old Palestinian was killed and four others were injured.
According to sources in the President's office, one of the
injured was senior Hamas-military wing member Ahmad Ajouri.
In Gaza City, Israeli Air Force (IAF) planes fired rockets
into a blacksmith shop, reportedly causing damage, but no
injuries. Elsewhere in Gaza, a Hamas activist was killed and
five others were injured in a blast that was reportedly the
premature explosion of a bomb the activist was making.
Palestinian militants fired three home-made rockets from Gaza
into the Western Negev on August 16. There was no reported
damage or injuries. The military-wing of Fatah and the Abu
Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for two of the
rockets.

3. (SBU) In the West Bank, Palestinians threw stones at an
Israeli car traveling near the northern West Bank city of
Qalqiliya on August 16. No one was injured and there was no
damage. IDF units arrested 11 Palestinians in overnight
arrest operations throughout the West Bank.

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

4. (SBU) The Rafah crossing is closed August 17, according
to USAID Gaza-based staff. Rafah was last open August 11.

5. (SBU) The Karni/al-Mintar crossing remains closed August
17. Karni/al-Mintar was closed August 16 for maintenance and
electrical work on the Israeli side, according to USAID
Gaza-based staff. The Nahal Oz fuel transfer crossing is
open August 17, as it was August 16.

6. (SBU) All ten electricity feeder lines from Israel into
Gaza are operational August 17, according to USAID Gaza-based
staff.

DUFFY

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