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