FATAH AND HAMAS MEET TO EASE TENSIONS IN GAZA AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002134 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2016 TAGS: KPAL KWBG PREL IS ASEC SUBJECT: FATAH AND HAMAS MEET TO EASE TENSIONS IN GAZA AS VIOLENCE CONTINUES Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Tensions remain high in Gaza despite efforts by Fatah and Hamas to calm the situation. Clashes took place in Gaza City and a kidnapping elsewhere. The death of a PSO chief appears to be a "work accident" and not part of the ongoing clashes. Fatah and Hamas representatives met and reportedly agreed to integrate the Special Security Force into the PA Civil Police. END SUMMARY. -------------- Clashes and Kidnappings Continue -------------- ¶2. (C) An official from the President's Office in Gaza told POL FSN that at 1530L on May 25, clashes erupted between the Interior Ministry's Special Security Force and the PSO on Thalathini Street in Gaza City. He reported that at least four-to-five people were injured in the clashes. ¶3. (C) In a separate incident, HAMAS gunmen kidnapped Fatah activist and PSO officer Manar Abu Sill in Gaza City. A second individual was shot and injured in the incident. ¶4. (C) Media reported that around 1930L on May 24, Nabil Hudhud, chief of the PSO in Central Gaza, was killed and his senior aide wounded when the vehicle Hudhud was traveling in near Gaza City exploded. PSO announced that an investigation has been opened into Hudhud's death. In a May 25 meeting with the Consul General, PLC Member Muhammad Dahlan described Hudhud's death as a "work-related accident," when an explosive device accidentally detonated in his car. Dahlan said Hamas had quickly called PSO to emphasize that it had nothing to do with it. -------------- Fatah and HAMAS Meet to Diffuse Tensions . . . -------------- ¶5. (C) Senior officials of Fatah and HAMAS, including PM Isma'il Haniyyah, met again May 24 in Gaza to reduce tensions. Both sides reportedly agreed to integrate the Interior Ministry's Special Security Force into the PA Civil Police and release the conclusions of a fact-finding committee examining the causes of the latest wave of violence. ¶6. (C) In a press conference immediately following the meeting, PM Haniyyah said that Fatah and HAMAS are not involved in a civil war in Gaza, but indicated that some "unknown people" within the security forces may have a hidden agenda to provoke one. Haniyyah stressed that HAMAS and Fatah are determined to contain the crisis and focus efforts on confronting the "economic siege" imposed on the Palestinians by the international community. WALLES