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 -------------- ¶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. JERUSALEM 00002392 002 OF 002 WALLES