NABLUS INCURSIONS ENDS AFTER ONE KILLED, DOZENS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000437

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2017
TAGS: PREL KWBG IS KPAL PGOV PTER
SUBJECT: NABLUS INCURSIONS ENDS AFTER ONE KILLED, DOZENS
ARRESTED; RADIO STATIONS USED FOR IDF MESSAGE BROADCASTS

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


1. (C) Summary. According to Palestinian security
commanders and Arabic-language press, Israeli security forces
departed Nablus late March 1 after four days of intermittent
operations. The West Bank National Security Forces (NSF)
commander told Poloff that the IDF entered Nablus February 25
and 28 with about 80 vehicles and bulldozers and imposed a
total curfew on the city. During the operation, one
Palestinian was shot and killed, and at least 12 Palestinians
and two Israeli soldiers were injured when skirmishes broke
out between IDF and Palestinian stone throwers, leading to
dozens of arrests. Security commanders and journalists
report the IDF took over local radio stations and transmitted
messages ordering a curfew and listing the names of wanted
terror suspects. UN OCHA said ambulance crews and patients
underwent ID checks and searches at local hospitals before
ambulances could arrive or depart. IDF press releases said
several explosive labs, bombmaking materials and weapons were
found. End summary.


4-Day Nablus Incursion: One Killed
Several Injured, Dozens Arrested
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2. (C) According to Palestinian security commanders and
Arabic-language press, Israeli security forces departed
Nablus late March 1, capping over four days of intermittent
operations in the commercial center and Qasbah Old City in
what the IDF labeled "Operation Hot Winter." West Bank NSF
commander BG Thiab Ali ("Abu al-Fatah") told Poloff February
28 that the IDF entered Nablus before dawn on March 25 with
about 80 vehicles and bulldozers and imposed a total curfew
on the city. During the operation, skirmishes broke out
between IDF and Palestinian stone throwers, injuring at least
12 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.


3. (C) Arabic newspapers reported March 27 that the IDF shot
and killed 42-year-old Anan al-Tibi for violating curfew in
the Qasbah, shot and injured al-Tibi's son, arrested several
dozen Palestinian youths on March 25, and blew up the house
of al-Aqsa Brigades militant Basam Abu Sariyah (aka
"Ghadafi") on the outskirts of the Qasbah. The IDF left most
of their positions on February 27, according to BG Ali, but
returned at 0230 local on February 28 with over 100 vehicles,
before and continued operations until the afternoon of March

1.

IDF Occupies Radio Stations, Interrupts
Broadcasts to Transmit Messages
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4. (C) BG Ali said the IDF took over local radio stations
and transmitted messages in Arabic ordering residents to stay
at home while the IDF arrested terror suspects and searched
for weapons, and broadcasted names of wanted al-Aqsa Brigades
militants, including: Mahdi Abu Ghazala, Ammar Akubah, Sufian
Qandil, Amin Libbada, Abd al-Rahman Shinnawi and Mahdi Akkub.
The broadcasts warned residents not to hide wanted
militants. Radio journalists said that the IDF interrupted
regular broadcasts to transmit these messages several times
February 25-26. BG Ali said the named militants were not
arrested during the incursion.


5. (SBU) Arabic newspapers reported that the IDF had taken
over Jamal Abdul Nasser School in the Qasbah as a detention
center. Palestinian journalists also reported the IDF
arrested the head of al-Sanabal Radio Station, Nabigh Brayk,
confiscating the station's equipment and claiming Brayk had
allowed suicide bombers to record their wills on his
equipment prior to attacks in Israel. Eman Ereqat, a
Ramattan News Agency reporter, said the IDF fired toward an
Agency vehicle, seriously damaging it but causing no injuries.

Health Workers Say IDF
Delayed Ambulance Crews
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6. (C) UN OCHA Nablus field officer Sa'ad Abd al-Hak told
Econoff that the IDF stationed two jeeps at each of Nablus'
three major hospitals (one is private and two are public) and
posted troops at each emergency entrance to stop ambulances,
check the IDs of the crew and patients, and search the
vehicles before granting passage. He said outgoing
ambulances underwent the same checks and procedures.

NSF Stay Low, Not
Involved in Fighting

JERUSALEM 00000437 002 OF 002


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7. (C) BG Ali said the NSF left the streets, stayed in their
compounds and did not get involved in street protests that
broke out in reaction to the incursion. He said NSF
personnel who remain on the streets with arms have often been
shot in the past.

IDF Official Statements Claim
Discovery of Bomb Factories, Arms
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8. (SBU) IDF press releases said the IDF found three
explosives labs containing gas balloons, pipes for pipebombs,
electronic bomb components, improvised weapons and computers
with explosives information, and a ballistic vest. Later
releases said that in later searches, the IDF found an intact
LAW (anti-armor) rocket, five pipe bombs, a large explosive
device, two bottles of TNT, rifle magazines and four sacks of
fertilizer.

WALLES