AT LEAST 8 KILLED IN HAMAS ATTACK ON PRESIDENTIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000891 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA, NSC FOR ABRAMS/WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2017 TAGS: PREL KWBG IS KPAL PGOV PINS SUBJECT: AT LEAST 8 KILLED IN HAMAS ATTACK ON PRESIDENTIAL GUARD BASE NEAR KARNI/AL-MINTAR REF: JERUSALEM 882 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. In the most serious factional clashes since January 2007, Hamas military-wing gunmen assaulted a Presidential Guard (PG) training compound near Karni/al-Mintar, ambushed a National Security Forces (NSF) truck and killed its occupants, according to Gaza NSF and PG commanders. During the fighting, Israeli military personnel reportedly shot and killed one NSF soldier and injured another who had approached the Gaza perimeter fence. Hamas gunmen also attacked the Gaza City Preventive Security (PSO) headquarters with small arms and mortars, killing one PSO guard. End summary. Hamas Attacks PG Training Camp -------------- ¶2. (C) The violence began May 15 shortly after a Hamas activist (Ibrahim Maniya) was shot and killed by Fatah militiamen o/a 0200, according to BG Jamal Abu al-Fahim (PG commander at the Karni/al-Mintar compound). Abu al-Fahim said Hamas initiated mortar and small arms attacks on the PG's Salah al-Din road training camp (near the Gaza Industrial Estate and the Karni/al-Mintar crossing) before dawn on May 15 and continued fire through the morning. By 1030, after hours of exchanging fire with Hamas fighters, the PG training camp commander removed all PG personnel from the training base to the crossing compound, in coordination with BG Abu al-Fahim. NSF Ambushed in Reinforcement Attempt; 8 NSF Killed -------------- ¶3. (C) Following the attack on the training camp, an Gaza City NSF contingent was sent to reinforce al-Mintar perimeter positions and roadblocks, according to BG Jamal Kayyad (Gaza NSF commander). As the NSF arrived to back up their perimeter positions there, Hamas military-wing attackers, whom Kayyad described as "mercenaries following orders of foreign agendas," fired an RPG at a truck carrying NSF troops. The truck was overturned and destroyed. Kayyad and Fatah spokesmen claim Hamas gunmen then executed NSF troops who had survived the initial attack, killing a total of 8 NSF soldiers. Fatah spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khusa told Arabic-language television on May 15 that the NSF/PG death toll will likely rise to 13 as PG and NSF wounded die of critical injuries sustained during the attacks. ¶4. (C) According to PG spokesman Ahmad al-Qaysi (and reported in Israeli media),Israeli soldiers near Karni/al-Mintar crossing shot and killed one NSF soldier and injured another who had approached the Gaza perimeter fence during the gunfight with Hamas. BG Kayyad said Hamas gunmen had fired at Israeli positions while attacking NSF and PG positions, prompting the IDF to open fire at all armed Palestinians in the vicinity. BG Abu al-Fahim claimed Israeli fire was often directed at the PG during the fight and prevented them from reinforcing their positions. PSO Base Attacked -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Gaza security contacts report that Hamas gunmen also attacked the PSO headquarters and nearby PG base in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City with machine gun and mortar fire on May 15, starting at about 1200. One PSO guard (Yusif Imtayr) was killed and at least two others injured in the attack. ¶6. (SBU) Sporadic clashes between NSF and allied Fatah militiamen and Hamas military-wing/Executive Force gunmen continue as of 1500 local. PM Ismayil Haniyah (Hamas) called for Gaza security chiefs to meet today, but it is unlikely that the meeting will be held. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) We anticipate that the PG, NSF and Fatah-aligned militias will likely retaliate for the day's bloodshed. PG spokesman Ahmad al-Qaysi called the attack "a serious provocation and a crime committed in cold blood." Thus far, Hamas forces have outgunned PASF forces in local engagements. In northern Gaza, the PG and NSF have been effectively restricted by pro-Hamas forces to their compounds and JERUSALEM 00000891 002 OF 002 environs. WALLES