VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN GAZA AMID REPORTS OF HAMAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001486 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA; DS/IP/NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2016 TAGS: MOPS KPAL KWBG PREL IS SUBJECT: VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN GAZA AMID REPORTS OF HAMAS EFFORTS TO STOP FATAH AND PIJ ATTACKS Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The IDF continued shelling Gaza for a fourth day in response to the launching of six more Qassam rockets into Israel. PA Interior Minister Siad Siam and Foreign Minister Mahmud al-Zahar reportedly initiated a low profile political effort to convince Fatah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders to stop the Qassam attacks. Israeli shelling struck a heavily populated area of Beit Lahya, killing a child and injuring 16 others. END SUMMARY. -------------- HAMAS Leaders Try to Calm Security in Gaza -------------- ¶2. (C) Fatah official Yasir al-Masri (strictly protect) told ConGen officers on April 11 that HAMAS Interior Minister Siad Siam and Foreign Minister Mahmud al-Zahar were urging militant factions to cease Qassam attacks on Israel. Al-Masri said the HAMAS leaders had contacted officials at the Fatah Office of Mobilization and Organization and asked them to use their influence to deter further Qassam attacks. In Gaza, al-Masri said the HAMAS leaders contacted Fatah officials Ibrahim Abu Najah and Abdallah Ifrangi, asking them to use their influence to control the Fatah militants responsible for the attacks. Al-Masri reported that HAMAS delivered the same message to PIJ leader Khaled al-Batsch. Al-Masri described HAMAS' efforts as ironic, given the movement's terrorist record, and said the effort was unlikely to succeed in the current political environment. ¶3. (C) Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (AMB) and PIJ published a joint statement on April 10 pledging speedy retaliation for the Israeli shelling in Gaza and promising to continue resistance to the occupation. (NOTE: Fatah-affiliated militias and PIJ have claimed responsibility for the recent up-tick in Qassam attacks and attempted suicide bombings. END NOTE.) -------------- Qassam Attacks, Shelling Continue -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Israeli media sources reported that 6 Qassam rockets were launched into Israel on April 10. IDF spokesmen confirmed that Israeli artillery fired several hundred shells into areas of northern Gaza used for launching Qassam rockets between April 10 and 11. In Beit Lahya, an artillery shell struck a home in a heavily populated area at approximately 1650L, killing 9-year-old Hadil Ghraban and severely injuring 16 other members of her family, including 7 children and a pregnant woman. No Israeli casualties were reported as a result of the Qassam attacks. WALLES