MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 18 SITREP

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 003670 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 18 SITREP ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The body of a Palestinian reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire was found in Gaza on August 17. Three Palestinians in Gaza City were wounded when an Israeli Air Force plane attacked a metal workshop. The military-wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for a rocket launched from Gaza toward the Erez crossing. Two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and three Hamas militants were killed in separate incidents in the West Bank on August 18. IDF units arrested six Palestinian overnight August 17-18 in the West Bank. The Rafah and Karni/al-Mintar crossings are closed on August 18. The Nahal Oz fuel transfer crossing is open August 18. END SUMMARY. Military Developments -------------- ¶2. (SBU) PA medical personnel on August 17 found the body of a Palestinian youth near the al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The Palestinian was reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire. Three Palestinians were wounded overnight August 17-18 when an Israeli Air Force plane fired a rocket at a metal workshop in Gaza City, destroying the building. Palestinian militants launched a Qassam rocket from Gaza on August 17 toward the Erez crossing. The military-wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for launching an RPG. ¶3. (SBU) In the West Bank, on August 18 the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killed two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who were hiding in a cave near Bethlehem after exchanging fire with the Israelis. Three Hamas militants were killed near Jenin on August 18, reportedly when an explosive belt one of them was wearing detonated prematurely. Two Palestinians were injured during a confrontation between Palestinian youth and the IDF near the West Bank city of Qalqiliya on August 17. Palestinians opened fire on IDF troops near Nablus on August 17. There were no injuries reported. An Israeli border policeman near Abu Dis was slightly injured on August 17, when someone threw a Molotov cocktail at him. Six Palestinians were arrested throughout the West Bank on August 17-18. Humanitarian Update -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Rafah crossing is closed August 18, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. Rafah was last open August 11. ¶5. (SBU) The Karni/al-Mintar crossing remains closed August 18, reportedly for essential maintenance and electrical work on the Israeli side, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. Karni/al-Mintar was last open August 15. The Nahal Oz fuel transfer crossing is open August 18, as it was August 17. ¶6. (SBU) All ten electricity feeder lines from Israel into Gaza are operational August 18, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. DUFFY