NABLUS OPERATIONS NOVEMBER 16-19: PASF BESIEGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 002392

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2017
TAGS: KWBG PINS IS PGOV PTER
SUBJECT: NABLUS OPERATIONS NOVEMBER 16-19: PASF BESIEGE
PFLP MILITANTS; MULTIPLE IDF INCURSIONS/PATROLS FRUSTRATE PA

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. PA National Security Forces (NSF) continued
a cordon/arrest operation to arrest 4 PFLP gunmen in Ein Bayt
al-Ma' Refugee Camp ("Camp 1") for a second day on November

19. The raids follow PA Interior Minister (MoI) Abd al-Raziq
al-Yahya's November 17 public pledge to disband all militant
factions and collect all illegal weapons. PA security
contacts report 4 IDF incursions November 16-19 in Camp 1,
al-Askar refugee camp and the Casbah and say the IDF entered
Tal village late November 16 preventing PASF from conducting
planned arrest operations there. PM Salam Fayyad's security
advisor told POLOFF November 19 that continuing IDF
incursions "destroy our accomplishments, make our efforts
futile and undermine public perceptions of the PASF and our
forces' morale." End summary.

NSF Cordon Refugee Camp in PFLP Standoff;
al-Yahya Pledges to Dismantle All Militias
--------------


2. (SBU) According to NSF contacts, the NSF cordoned off
Camp 1 early November 18 in an operation to arrest four PFLP
gunmen who shot their weapons in the camp on November 16.
The operation continues November 19, with the NSF occupying
rooftop positions throughout the camp and searching houses.
The raids followed MoI al-Yahya's November 17 public pledge
to disband all militant factions, including the al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades, and to collect all illegal weapons.
Al-Yahya said the Intifadah's violence was disastrous and
meeting Roadmap obligations will bring Palestinians closer to
their national goals.

PFLP Condemns PASF Arrest Plans,
But PASF to Continue Operations
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3. (SBU) Jamil Mizhir, spokesman for the PFLP's Abu Ali
Mustafa Brigades military wing, told local press on November
19 that the PASF "are trying to achieve what Israeli forces
failed in besieging the refugee camp and attempting to arrest
PFLP leaders." He said the NSF is in Camp 1 "on instructions
from PA MoI Abd al-Raziq al-Yahya, who is obeying orders from
U.S. General Dayton to implement the first stage of the
Roadmap and end Palestinian resistance." PLO Deputy
Secretary-General and acting political chief, Abd al-Rahim

SIPDIS
Maluh, met with President Abbas late November 18, but PA
security officials say the operations will continue until the
PFLP suspects are arrested.

NSF Continue Arrest Operations in
Asira al-Shamaliya, Nablus Casbah
--------------


4. (SBU) Security contacts report that the NSF confiscated
an M16 rifle, ammunition, and a military uniform (belonging
to Hamas activist Sa'id Hamarnah, who the PSO arrested
November 15) in raids in Asira al-Shamaliya late November 16.
The NSF continued patrols throughout the Nablus area, and
report seizing and destroying several older explosive devices
in the old city.

Four Israeli Incursions, 9 Detained
--------------


5. (SBU) The IDF entered Nablus four times November 15-19,
and according to PASF contacts conducted "presence patrols,"
imposed brief curfews in Camp 1, al-Askar refugee camp and
the Casbah, and detained 9 Palestinians. PASF contacts
report the IDF entered Tal village (southwest of Nablus) late
November 16 and prevented PASF from conducting planned arrest
operations in the area.

Fayyad's Security Advisor: IDF Raids
Damaging Progress, Harming PASF Morale
--------------


6. (C) BG Hazem Attallah, security advisor to PM Salam
Fayyad, told POLOFF November 19 that continuing IDF
incursions "destroy our accomplishments, make our efforts
futile and undermine public perceptions of the PASF and our
forces' morale." He claimed IDF/MoD contacts "made
themselves unavailable" over the weekend when he attempted to
call to complain, and the IDF conducted "presence patrols" in
several Nablus neighborhoods but made no arrests. He said
these incursions embarrass the PA, and he is concerned they
will create a public perception that nothing has changed in
Nablus and feed militant propaganda.


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WALLES