SEVERAL KILLED AND WOUNDED IN HAMAS-FATAH CLASHES

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002244

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2016
TAGS: KPAL KWBG PREL IS ASEC CASC
SUBJECT: SEVERAL KILLED AND WOUNDED IN HAMAS-FATAH CLASHES
IN GAZA

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Sporadic but intense clashes June 1-5
between Fatah and Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip resulted in
eight Palestinians deaths and 21 injuries. Hamas gunmen on
June 5 set fire to the official PBC Palestinian TV
broadcasting station in Khan Yunis. Four Palestinian
military wing organizations on June 5 threatened some banks
which declined to pay PA salaries, prompting the Arab Bank to
close two branches in Gaza (septel). In the West Bank, the
Jenin head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades stated that its
forces would be deployed in the West Bank and Gaza to counter
the Hamas-affiliated Special Security Forces. END SUMMARY.

--------------
UP-TIC IN GAZA VIOLENCE
--------------


2. (C) At least eight people were killed and 21 people
injured in the Gaza Strip in several clashes between Hamas
and Fatah gunmen June 1-5. On June 1, a Preventative
Security Organization (PSO) officer was killed by suspected
Hamas gunmen, who opened fire at him as he was driving his
car through Gaza. In a separate incident on June 1, four PSO
officers were injured in Khan Yunis after being fired upon by
Hamas gunmen. On June 3, a senior Hamas military wing
leader, Hadi Siyam, was shot and seriously injured near the
al-Shati refugee camp. Hamas accused Fatah of involvement in
the shooting.


3. (C) On June 4, gunmen reportedly affiliated with Fatah
fired shots at a vehicle transporting a senior Hamas military
wing leader, Yaser al-Ghalban, his wife and two of his
brothers near Khan Yunis. Al-Ghalban, one brother and his
pregnant wife were killed in the attack, while two others
were wounded. Hamas accused Fatah elements of the PSO in
Gaza of being behind the attack. In a separate but possibly
related incident in Khan Yunis, a PSO officer was abducted
and reportedly shot ten times. Clashes between Fatah and
Hamas gunmen in the al-Shati refugee camp June 4 resulted in
three dead and five others wounded.


4. (C) An explosion occurred inside the home of a Hamas
military wing activist Ahmed Sabri in Jabalia refugee camp at
1140L on June 5, killing Sabri and wounding three others.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but ConGen
contacts indicated that the explosion could be tied to
tensions between Hamas and Fatah.

--------------
HAMAS GUNMEN SET TV STATION ON FIRE
--------------


5. (C) Following the June 5 funeral of Hamas military wing
leader Yaser al-Ghalban, dozens of Hamas supporters stormed
the official Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) TV
station in Khan Yunis at 1430L, destroying equipment and
setting fire to the building. The incident occurred while
the TV station was broadcasting a Fatah rally in Ramallah in
support of the Palestinian prisoners' document and a national
referendum. A PBC official told ConGen PD specialist that
employees were forced out of the building by gunmen from the
Izzedine Qassam Brigades of Hamas, who called them
"collaborators." The PA Minister of Information condemned
the attack in a press statement, but did not deny Hamas'
involvement.

--------------
AL-AQSA TO DEPLOY IN WEST BANK AND GAZA
--------------


6. (C) In Jenin, armed men of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
were deployed in the streets of the city on June 3. Zakaria
al-Zubeidi, head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Jenin,
told the media that the force will serve the PLO. In Gaza,
an al-Aqsa spokesman said that its forces would be deployed
in the streets of Gaza. Meanwhile, the Hamas-affiliated
Special Security Forces remain deployed in select areas of
Gaza.

WALLES