MGGZ01 - ISRAELI GAZA INCURSION - JERUSALEM JULY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 003029 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO, USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2016 TAGS: PREL ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG PHUM SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - ISRAELI GAZA INCURSION - JERUSALEM JULY 19 SITREP Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Approximately 100 American citizens left Gaza on July 19. Approximately 5,200 Palestinians passed through the Rafah crossing into Gaza on July 18. The IDF July 19 launched a large incursion into the al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing six Palestinians, including civilians, with at least 50 reported injuries. The IDF operation is ongoing in al-Maghazi as of 1400 local. Qassam rockets fired from Gaza continued to fall in or near Israeli population centers, resulting in some light injuries and property damage. In the West Bank, the IDF focused operations in Nablus on the main PA security forces compound, killing three al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members, and wounding at least seven others, including one critically. IDF units have also engaged in clashes with Palestinian stone-throwers in Nablus, resulting in at least 21 injuries. Palestinian President Abbas (Abu Mazen) met with UN officials regarding the crisis in Gaza. The Karni/al-Mintar and Nahal Oz crossings are open July 19. -------------- AMCIT Update -------------- ¶2. (C) On the morning of July 19, Post successfully assisted approximately 100 American citizens in leaving Gaza via the Erez crossing point. According to ConGenoffs, one Amcit was unable to cross due to insufficient travel documentation, while another 16 Amcits were reported no-shows. As of 1400 hours local, the Amcits are being processed at Allenby Bridge en-route to Jordan. -------------- Rafah Crossing -------------- ¶3. (C) According to ConGen Palestinian contacts, approximately 5,200 Palestinians transited from Egypt into Gaza via the Rafah crossing on July 18 (septel). The crossing remained open to process those seeking passage until midnight July 19. Nazmi Muhanna, head of the General Administration of Crossings and Borders, told EconSpecialist that the Rafah passenger crossing was open between 1100 and 1600, July 19. 600 people entered Gaza from Egypt. -------------- Military Developments -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In the early hours of July 19, the IDF, supported by APCs and tanks, moved into al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Intense clashes were reported, resulting in four Palestinian gunmen and two civilians killed, and at least 50 others injured, including 14 children from an IDF tank shell that hit two houses in the camp. Israeli press reported that five Israeli soldiers were wounded in the clashes. As of 1400 local, the IDF operation is continuing in the camp with soldiers conducting house-to-house searches. The IAF overnight July 18-19 conducted air strikes against militant targets in central Gaza, but there were no reported injuries. ¶5. (SBU) At least eight Qassam rockets were launched from northern Gaza toward Ashkelon, Sderot, and the Western Negev overnight July 18-19. There were some light injuries (mostly shock related) and some property damage. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),the PRC, and the Abu Rish Brigades claimed responsibility. ¶6. (SBU) In the West Bank, the IDF July 19 continued military operations in Nablus (septel). IDF soldiers surrounded and subsequently entered the main headquarters of PA security forces, with three al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades reported killed and seven others wounded, including a NSF officer in serious condition. According to Israeli press accounts, the IDF was seeking several wanted Palestinians hiding inside the compound. ConGen Palestinian contacts reported that the IDF detained and transferred about 170 PA security personnel from the compound to the IDF military base near Huwarra for questioning. The IDF continues to operate elsewhere in Nablus engaging Palestinian stone-throwers. At least 21 Palestinians sustained injuries, mostly from rubber bullets, in the clashes. In Ramallah, the IDF overnight July 18-19 arrested seven security guards protecting the Governor's residence. IDF special undercover units also arrested a wanted PFLP activist in Birzeit, north of Ramallah. ¶7. (SBU) Factional violence between Fatah and Hamas escalated on July 18 with the attack on the Gaza home of senior Preventive Security Organization (PSO) Officer Nabil Tamous, a close ally of Muhammad Dahlan and the reported head of the "Death Squads" battalion in the PSO. During the incident, Hamas gunmen attacked the Tamous home, firing rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, causing significant damage. Several gunmen also detonated an explosive device in the house. One PSO bodyguard was killed and five others sustained minor injuries. Neither Tamous nor his family were in the home at the time of the incident. Fatah blamed the PRC and Hamas for the attack. -------------- Political Developments -------------- ¶8. (C) Abu Mazen, in Gaza as of July 18, met with UN officials in Gaza City to discuss the Gaza crisis. According to the president's office, Abu Mazen is tentatively scheduled to meet Hamas PM Isma'il Haniyyah the evening of July 19. ¶9. (SBU) A partial strike took place July 18 in East Jerusalem, including the Old City, to protest Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Palestinian activists had urged shopkeepers to close their businesses in protest, but a number of businesses remained open. -------------- Humanitarian Update -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Crossings: The Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings remain closed. The Karni/al-Mintar commercial crossing opened July 19 at 1130, according to PalTrade Gaza-based official Mohammed Skaik. The Karni crossing July 18 processed 170 inbound truckloads, mainly food, according to Skaik. The Nahal Oz fuel transfer station is operational on July 19. On July 18, a USAID contractor monitoring the crossing reported the following deliveries: -- 600,000 liters of diesel; -- 200,000 liters of gasoline; and -- 144 tons of cooking gas. ¶11. (SBU) Electricity: According to USAID Gaza-based field staff, eight of the ten medium-tension electricity feeder lines into Gaza are operational on July 19. One of the two feeder lines into northern Gaza was damaged in fighting late on July 18, so Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya did not have electricity as of 1600 local. Water wells are operating on stand-by generators. The single feeder line for the central Gaza area was damaged during the IDF incursion late on July 18, so towns in the area are without power. WALLES