MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM JULY 21 SITREP

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 003093 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO, USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM JULY 21 SITREP Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Israeli Defense Forces withdrew from the al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza on July 21 after a three-day operation that left 16 Palestinians dead and approximately 130 wounded. In Nablus, the IDF continued its operation against the PA headquarters complex. Two Qassams were fired from Gaza into the Western Negev on July 21. PA President Abbas and Prime Minister Haniyyah met with the factions coordination committee in Gaza on July 20. An Israeli military court on July 20 ordered the release another detained member of the PA cabinet. The Karni/al-Mintar commercial crossing and the Rafah passenger crossings in Gaza were closed July 21, while the Nahal Oz fuel transfer station was operational. All ten of the electricity feeder lines from Israel to Gaza are operational on July 21. -------------- MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶2. (C) Israeli Defense Forces withdrew from the al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza in the early morning hours of July 21. Sources in the PA President's office told ConGen FSN political specialist that 16 Palestinians were killed and around 130 were injured in the course of the three-day IDF operation in the camp. The sources also reported significant destruction to the camp, including destroyed water pipes and streets, and damaged electricity poles. In a separate incident, sources in the President's office reported that four Palestinians, including Hamas-activist Jabel Harara, were killed on July 21 when the IDF fired at Harara's Gaza house. Harara's father was critically injured in the incident. ¶3. (C) In Nablus, the IDF operation against the PA headquarters complex continues. A senior aide to the Nablus governor told ConGen FSN political specialist that IDF bulldozers have destroyed most of the buildings in the compound, including the Preventive Security Organization's office. A total of five Palestinians have been killed thus far; and the IDF continues to detain 95 PA security officers at the Huwara military detention facility. ¶4. (SBU) Israeli media reported that two Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza into the western Negev. There were no reported damage or injuries. The IDF issued a statement on July 21 reporting that a gunman was critically injured and several others were wounded during a brief gunfight during the night of July 20-21 near the Karni crossing in northern Gaza. ¶5. (C) PA security sources reported that the IDF has informed the PA National Security Forces stationed at the Rafah International Airport in Gaza to evacuate. -------------- POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶6. (C) President Abbas and Prime Minister Haniyyah met with the members of the factions coordination committee in Gaza on July 20. Ibrahim Abu al-Naja, the Fatah coordinator of the National and Islamic Forces Coordinating Committee, reported that members had agreed that the decision to release the captured IDF soldier should be a Palestinian one, and that mediation efforts should be Abbas' and Haniyyah's responsibility. The committee also affirmed that there should be no linkage between the kidnapped soldier in Gaza and the kidnapped soldiers in Lebanon. ¶7. (C) Fatah sources told Congen FSN political specialist that the Egyptian security delegation in Gaza met with PM Haniyyah, who urged the Egyptians to continue their mediation to end the crisis. They noted that Hamas continues to insist that a prisoners exchange is the only way to end the crisis in Gaza. ¶8. (SBU) The Israeli military court on July 20 ordered the release of PA Minister of Social Affairs Fakhri Turkman on 4000 NIS bail. Turkman, who was arrested as part of the large-scale arrests of leading Hamas figures on June 29, is not a Hamas official, but ran for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) on a slate of candidates supported by Hamas. -------------- HUMANITARIAN UPDATE -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Crossings: According to USAID Gaza-based field staff, the Karni/al-Mintar commercial crossing and the Rafah passenger crossing are closed July 21, while the Nahal Oz fuel transfer station is operational. ¶10. (SBU) Electricity: According to USAID Gaza-based field staff, all ten of the electricity feeder lines from Israel to Gaza are operational on July 21. The single line that supplies the Middle Gaza Governorate was damaged in the fighting July 18 and was repaired July 20. WALLES