JERICHO RAID: POLITIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR KEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001119 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORN/MUSTAFA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2016 TAGS: PAL PGOV ASEC IS SUBJECT: JERICHO RAID: POLITIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR KEY PALESTINIAN ACTORS RE: JERUSALEM 1072 Classified By: Consul General ake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C)SUMMARY: The March 14 Israeli raid on the Jericho prison has hurt President Abbas, (Abu Mazen) standng among Palestinians and bolstered the perceptin that his administration is vacillating and oftn incompetent. Criticism from the HAMAS leadershp has been focused on the U.S. and U.K., rather han Abu Mazen. Contacts in the PA Security Force (PASF) describe the attack as deeply damaging t their morale. END SUMMARY Abu Mazen Weakened y IDF Raid -------------- ¶2. C) While Palestinian media coverage has been highl critical of the U.S/U.K. decision to withdrawal he monitors, by March 16 several Palestinian newpapers had published translated portions of the arch 8 U.S./U.K. letter to Abu Mazen. Many Paletinian interlocutors have focused on the failureof Abu Mazen,s office to take action following noification by the U.S./U.K. One contact from the PO Negotiation Support Unit commented to Poloff dring a March 16 telcon, &Perhaps it was fortunat for Abu Mazen that he had already left for Europe when all this happened, otherwise he wouldn,t have had any excuse for doing nothing.8 ¶3. (C) Ministry of Interior (MOI) contacts have cited disorganization in Abu Mazen,s office as an underlying problem, noting that they were not informed following the delivery of the March 8 U.S./U.K. letter, a charge also made privately by Interior Minister Nasir Yusif (reftel). In addition to criticizing the U.S. and U.K. for the Jericho attack, PFLP leader Ahmad Sa,adat wrote in a letter to Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on March 16 that PA &procrastination8 in addressing his detention was also to blame. HAMAS -------------- ¶4. (C) Te HAMAS leadership responded to the Jericho crisis with relatively moderate criticism of the U.S. and U.K., but has so far refrained from any criticism of Abu Mazen or attempts to contrast the movement,s &culture of resistance8 with the humiliating image of surrendering PASF. In a March 16 statement to the media, HAMAS PM-designate Isma,il Hanniyah condemned the &U.S and U.K. collusion8 in the IDF raid on the Jericho prison and denounced the Israeli actions as a &serious escalation.8 Notably, he did not comment on Abu Mazen,s role or the failure of the PASF to resist the IDF as several other leaders have done. MOI contacts have speculated that HAMAS intends to &lay low8 until the new government is formed. PASF -------------- ¶5. (C) PASF contacts have focused on the IDF &humiliation8 of the security forces during the Jericho attack. (NOTE: Images of surrendering National Security Forces (NSF) officers in their underwear were broadcast in local and international media. END NOTE) MOI staffer Ithar Abu Gharbieh described the Jericho siege as deeply damaging to PASF morale, speculating the incident would hurt Abu Mazen,s standing among Palestinians and Nasir Yusif,s position among rival security chiefs because of the perception that &They have failed to protect our dignity.8 In regard to respect for the PASF within Palestinian society, one Palestinian observer quipped, &How are they going to hand out speeding tickets when everyone knows the color of their underwear?8 ¶6. (C) The IDF's arrest of militants under detention in a NSF controlled facility may also undermine PASF influence over militant factions. Abu Gharbieh told Poloff during a March 15 telcon that MOI officials have been focused on quelling rumors that the PASF knew in advance of the attack on the compound and had concentrated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad detainees in Jericho so the IDF could seize them in one place. Abu Gharbieh stated that officials at the MOI expect efforts to control militants by integrating them into the PASF will be more difficult. Likewise, the PA now lacks a secure facility in the West Bank for detaining criminals or militants. WALLES