MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM JULY 22 SITREP

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 003096 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO, USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM JULY 22 SITREP Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Events in Gaza and the West Bank have been quieter than in previous days. The IDF ended its multi-day operation in Nablus, after demolishing a number of PA security buildings. One of the wanted Palestinians was reportedly pulled alive from the wreckage following the IDF departure. President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is due to return to Ramallah on July 22; among the meetings tentatively scheduled for him on July 23 are CODEL Hoekstra, the German and French foreign ministers, and a UK minister of state. USSC conversations with the PASF about an anti-Qassam plan continue. A draft is expected July 24, but PASF planners all caveat that a political agreement with Hamas is necessary before their plans can be effective. The Rafah and Karni crossings are closed on July 22, as is the Nahal Oz fuel transfer point. Damage to two electricity lines has left the area around Beit Hanoun and Jabaliyya, as well as Rafath, without power. -------------- Military Developments -------------- ¶2. (C) The IDF ended their several-day operation in Nablus on July 21. IDF operations included the dismantling of the Nablus Muqataa and several other security buildings. After the IDF left, one of their targets in the raid - wanted militant Ahmed Sanakreh - was reportedly pulled from the wreckage, badly injured but alive. ¶3. (SBU) 4 Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza toward the western Negev. No damage or injuries were reported. IDF arrest operations continue in other parts of the West Bank. -------------- Political -------------- ¶4. (C) President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is scheduled to return from Gaza to Ramallah late on July 22. In addition to a meeting tentatively scheduled with CODEL Hoekstra, Abu Mazen is to meet with the foreign ministers of Germany and France, along with UK Minister of State for the Middle East Kim Howells. ¶5. (C) No political breakthroughs were reported in the discussions Abu Mazen held with factional leaders in Gaza over the last several days. Press reports indicate that Hamas is still talking about formation of a National Unity Government, but at a later stage and presumably under Hamas leadership. -------------- Political-Military Developments -------------- ¶6. (C) Conversations held over the past several days by members of the US Security Coordination Mission keyed on guiding the PA Security Forces to produce an anti-Qassam firing plan by July 24, and a draft is expected by that date. Conversations in both Gaza and Ramallah reveal that PASF planners firmly believe that any successful anti-Qassam campaign must start with a political agreement between Palestinian factions. -------------- Humanitarian Update -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Rafah is closed. Karni is closed, as it usually is on Saturdays. However, Karni was also closed all day July ¶21. The Nahal Oz fuel point is closed; it was open on July ¶21. 8 of 10 electricity feeder lines are open. Damage to the other two feeder lines in the north and in the south mean that the area around Beit Hanoun and Jabaliyya, as well as Rafath, are without power. WALLES