MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM JULY 25 SITREP

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 003163 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; OPS PLEASE PASS TO SECRETARY'S PARTY; OPS PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2016 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KWBG KPAL IS SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM JULY 25 SITREP Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) There continued to be incidents of violence in Gaza, July 24-25, with reports of six Palestinian fatalities. The IDF arrested 12 Palestinians in the West Bank July 24. At least four Qassam rockets were launched at the western Negev and Sderot July 24, and another three were launched, as of 1245 local July 25. One moderately wounded a foreign worker in the western Negev. According to one media report July 25, all of the factions in Gaza would accept a cease-fire agreement and the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier if Israel ceased all military operations in Gaza and guaranteed future Palestinian prisoner releases. One Hamas official said that those holding the Israeli soldier should strike a prisoner exchange deal sooner than Hizballah, given the difference in circumstances between the two situations. According to PA Presidency sources, President Abbas called Prime Minister Haniyeh July 24 and pressed him to stop the Qassam rocket firing. The Rafah passenger crossing remains closed July 25, but the Karni/al-Mintar commercial crossing and the Nahal Oz fuel transfer station are operational July ¶25. All ten electricity lines from Israel into Gaza are operational July 25. End summary. -------------- MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The IDF carried out a series of air strikes in Gaza, Khan Younis, and Rafah the night of July 24, according to media reports, targeting PIJ houses said to be used to store weapons and rockets. Two houses were totally destroyed in the Shijaya neighborhood of Gaza City; one house in Rafah was destroyed totally, as was a house in Khan Younis. Reuters reported that overall six Palestinians were killed and several others were wounded, July 24. An Israeli tank shelled the al-Nada Towers housing project in Beit Hanoun, killing four, including a paramedic and a 14-year old boy. The shelling was allegedly in response to two Qassam rockets fired at the Western Negev and Sderot. According to sources in the PA President's Office, 50 families evacuated their homes in that housing project after the IDF broadcast a warning message on Radio Palestine telling those residents to evacuate their homes. In another incident July 24, UN security sources reported that an Israeli drone fired on a donkey cart in Beit Lahia, killing a 62-year old woman and her 10-year old grandchild, and injuring five others. Post is investigating reports that several American citizens may have been injured in the Rafah attack. ¶3. (SBU) IDF arrest operations continued in the West Bank, with 12 people arrested the night of July 24. Early July 25, IDF forces entered Jericho and the nearby Aqbat Jaber refugee camp and arrested two people after surrounding a house for several hours. ¶4. (SBU) Three Qassam rockets were fired between 0600 and 1245 local, July 25. One landed in Amioz in the western Negev, for which the Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility. Israeli media reported that one foreign worker was moderately wounded in an Amioz packaging factory. No group has claimed responsibility for the other two rocket firings, one landed in the western Negev and the other just north of the Erez crossing. At least four Qassam rockets were fired at Sderot and the western Negev, July 24. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades issued a statement claiming credit for the firing of two rockets, rejecting the cease-fire agreement, and confirming their solidarity with the Lebanese resistance. PIJ claimed responsibility for the firing of the other two rockets. -------------- POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶5. (C) According to the PA Agriculture Minister in a July 25 "Haaretz" report, all of the factions in Gaza, including Hamas, would accept a cease-fire deal with Israel and the release of CPL Shalit if Israel ceased all military operations in Gaza and guaranteed future Palestinian prisoner releases. According to the "Haaretz" story, Hamas leaders did not confirm the report. Reuters quoted Mohammed Nazal of the Hamas political bureau as saying that the captors of CPL Shalit should strike a prisoner exchange deal sooner than Hizballah, given the drastic difference in circumstances between the two situations. Fatah sources confirmed to ConGen PolSpecialist that President Abbas and Egyptian President Mubarak both stepped up their efforts to secure the release of CPL Shalit in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. ¶6. (C) Sources in the PA President's Office also reported that President Abbas contacted Prime Minister Haniyeh July 24, following the repeated firing of Qassam rockets into northern Gaza, and urged the Prime Minister to use his influence to stop the rocket firing. -------------- HUMANITARIAN UPDATE -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Rafah passenger crossing is closed July 25. Local daily "al-Hayat al-Jadida" quoted General Director of the Crossings and Borders Administration Nazmi Muhanna as saying that he had not reached an agreement to re-open the Rafah crossing but that President Abbas was doing his utmost to re-open it. ¶8. (SBU) The Karni/al-Mintar crossing is operational on July 25, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. It was open for several hours late in the day July 24, after being closed since July 20. 97 truckloads entered Gaza July 24, according to PalTrade staff. The Nahal Oz fuel transfer station is operational on July 25. ¶9. (SBU) All ten electricity feeder lines from Israel into Gaza are operational July 25. Electricity continues to be rotated every eight hours between two zones in each governorate. According to reports issued by the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO),the total cost of damages to the electricity network in Gaza between June 28 and July 17 is USD 518,441, not including the cost of damages to the transformers. WALLES