MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 22 SITREP

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 003752 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS, USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL CASC ASEC KWBG KPAL SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 22 SITREP ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades gunmen threatened to open the Rafah crossing by force on August 21. Seven Palestinians were wounded in Gaza overnight August 21-22; three were injured in an IDF operation near the Karni crossing, and four were injured by Israeli airstrikes. In the West Bank, the IDF arrested at least 10 Palestinians. The Rafah and Karni/al-Mintar crossings are closed August 22. The Nahal Oz fuel transfer crossing opened at 1430 local on August 22. Military Developments -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Approximately 80-90 Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades gunmen gathered near the Rafah Crossing on August 21 and threatened to open it by force. PA police and presidential guards prevented the men from entering the terminal area. Elsewhere in Gaza, three Palestinians were wounded and five wanted militants were arrested by IDF units near the Karni Crossing on August 21. Israeli Air Force (IAF) planes destroyed two homes overnight August 21-22. The first home was located near Rafah and belonged to a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) member. Three Palestinians were wounded in that attack. The second home was in Jabalia, and one Palestinian was wounded as a result of that attack. ¶3. (SBU) In the West Bank, the IDF arrested at least 10 Palestinians in Nablus, Jenin, Ramallah, and Jericho overnight August 21-22. Humanitarian Update -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Rafah crossing is closed August 22, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. Rafah was opened last August 19. There are reports that several thousand people are waiting for passage on both sides of Rafah, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. ¶5. (SBU) The Karni/al-Mintar commercial crossing is closed August 22, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. The crossing was last open August 15. Despite the seven days of closure, there are not yet any shortages of basic supplies, however flour and rice stocks are running low, according to USAID staff. Following the withdrawal of IDF forces from eastern Gaza City, Nahal Oz fuel transfer crossing opened August 22 at 1430 local. ¶6. (SBU) Eight of ten electricity feeder lines from Israel into Gaza are operational August 22, according to USAID Gaza-based staff. Two of the four feeder lines into Gaza City were damaged during the IDF incursion into the eastern part of the city August 22. WALLES