IAF BOMBS NSF SITE NEAR ABU MAZEN'S GAZA OFFICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001382 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA; DS/IP/NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2016 TAGS: MOPS KPAL KWBG PREL IS SUBJECT: IAF BOMBS NSF SITE NEAR ABU MAZEN'S GAZA OFFICE Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft fired three missiles at 1440L at a helicopter-landing pad in the Gaza City Ansar 2 compound, a largely abandoned National Security Force (NSF) facility that was used for the storage and maintenance of former President Arafat,s helicopters. The facility is located approximately 300 meters from the Gaza office of President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and was largely destroyed by the IDF in a 2004 attack. Abu Mazen was in Ramallah at the time of the attack. The IAF also bombed two open areas used by militants to launch Qassam rockets in the northern Gaza Strip. The strike came after the launching of five Qassam rockets into southern Israel by unidentified Palestinian militants earlier on April 4, and in the context of an April 3 Israeli media report that the IDF had threatened to shell NSF positions in northern Gaza if the President Abbas turned control of the NSF over to Hamas. (More on PASF reporting relationships septel.) ¶2. (C) Two members of the National Security Forces (NSF) were lightly injured in the IAF attack on the Ansar 2 compound. Israeli media sources reported that the IAF strike caused a panic at two Civil Police stations in Gaza, where Palestinian Civil Policemen abandoned their posts fearing further Israeli strikes. Consulate General FSNI in Gaza reported that officials in the President,s Office reacted angrily to the attack and voiced resentment that Abu Mazen has failed to clarify his position regarding control of the NSF. FSNI said officials in Gaza felt the timing and targeting of the IAF strike was intended to send a message to President Abbas regarding control of the NSF rather than target a specific individuals or cause injuries. WALLES