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)

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SUMMARY
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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.

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MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS
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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.

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POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
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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.

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HUMANITARIAN UPDATE
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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