MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 17 SITREP

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 003652 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS, USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 17 SITREP ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A 14-year old Palestinian was killed and four others were injured as a result of fighting between Fatah and Hamas militants in Gaza on August 16. A Hamas activist was killed in Gaza City when a bomb he was building exploded prematurely. Palestinian militants fired three rockets from Gaza into the Western Negev, but there were no reported injuries or property damage. In the West Bank, IDF units overnight arrested 11 Palestinians. The Rafah and the Karni/al-Mintar crossings are closed August 17, but the Nahal Oz fuel transfer crossing is open. END SUMMARY. Military Developments -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Inter-factional violence flared up in Gaza on August 16, when Fatah gunmen and the Hamas-led Ministry of Interior's "Executive Force" clashed in Khan Younis. A 14 year-old Palestinian was killed and four others were injured. According to sources in the President's office, one of the injured was senior Hamas-military wing member Ahmad Ajouri. In Gaza City, Israeli Air Force (IAF) planes fired rockets into a blacksmith shop, reportedly causing damage, but no injuries. Elsewhere in Gaza, a Hamas activist was killed and five others were injured in a blast that was reportedly the premature explosion of a bomb the activist was making. Palestinian militants fired three home-made rockets from Gaza into the Western Negev on August 16. There was no reported damage or injuries. The military-wing of Fatah and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for two of the rockets. ¶3. (SBU) In the West Bank, Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli car traveling near the northern West Bank city of Qalqiliya on August 16. No one was injured and there was no damage. IDF units arrested 11 Palestinians in overnight arrest operations throughout the West Bank. Humanitarian Update -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Rafah crossing is closed August 17, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. Rafah was last open August 11. ¶5. (SBU) The Karni/al-Mintar crossing remains closed August ¶17. Karni/al-Mintar was closed August 16 for maintenance and electrical work on the Israeli side, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. The Nahal Oz fuel transfer crossing is open August 17, as it was August 16. ¶6. (SBU) All ten electricity feeder lines from Israel into Gaza are operational August 17, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. DUFFY