MGGZ01- QUICK ACTION CLOSES BREECH IN WALL BETWEEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002771 SIPDIS SIPDIS OPS CENTER - PLEASE PASS TO SECRETARY'S PARTY NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2016 TAGS: PREL ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG SUBJECT: MGGZ01- QUICK ACTION CLOSES BREECH IN WALL BETWEEN GAZA AND EGYPT REF: JERUSALEM 2751 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) At 1245L on June 29, gunmen from the Popular Resistance Committees and the Hamas-affiliated Izzedine Qassam Brigades detonated a landmine along the Egypt-Gaza border, according to Khalil Khatib, a security officer in President Abbas' office (reftel). The explosion blasted out two adjacent sections of the concrete border wall located across from the Rafah refugee camp, creating a 4-meter wide gap. ¶2. (C) Immediately after the explosion, Egyptian troops contacted the Palestinian Presidential Guard (PG) and National Security Forces (NSF). Egyptian troops then deployed along the Philadelphi Route, imposed a curfew in the area of the explosion, and fired into the air in order to prevent Palestinians from penetrating the border. PG and NSF forces joined them on the other side. Khatib said that Egyptian forces prevented at least 45 Palestinians from crossing through the breech. ¶3. (C) Shortly afterwards, the Municipality of Rafah provided bulldozers and sealed the gap in the wall. By 1330L on June 29, the situation was brought under control and the hole sealed. Egyptian and Palestinian security officials told media that no Palestinians passed through the hole. (Comment: The rapid repair of the border this time stands in stark contrast to a similar event in September 2005, when the border was not sealed for several days. In that previous event, hundreds of Palestinians crossed the border unhindered, leading to tensions with both Egypt and Israel. End Comment). WALLES