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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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