IDF RATCHETS UP PRESSURE ON HAMAS IN THE GAZA STRIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 003172

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2017
TAGS: MOPS PTER PINS PREL KPAL KWBG IS
SUBJECT: IDF RATCHETS UP PRESSURE ON HAMAS IN THE GAZA STRIP

REF: A. TEL AVIV 2742

B. TEL AVIV 2707

Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones. Reasons: 1.4 (b)(d).


1. (SBU) Late October 30, the Israeli AIR FORCE (IAF) bombed
a Hamas police position in the southern Gaza Strip, killing
four Hamas policemen and wounding five, according to media
reports. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman confirmed
the strike, noting that it was in response to the firing of
mortar rounds at Netiv Ha'asara Moshav near the border of the
Gaza Strip -- which damaged a home but resulted in no
casualties -- and continued launching of Qassam rockets into
Israel. The spokesman added, "The Israeli army will continue
to act against these terrorists to reduce the number of
rockets fired at southern Israel." Netiv Ha'asara has
reportedly experienced a surge in mortar attacks over the
past several weeks. Palestinian Islamic Jihad reportedly
claimed responsibility for the mortar attack.


2. (SBU) Also on October 30, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
Barak said during a tour of northern Israel that a
large-scale IDF operation against Palestinian rocket squads
is drawing near. He told Army Radio, "Every day that passes
brings us closer to a broad operation in Gaza. We are not
happy to do it. We are not rushing to do it. And we will be
happy if circumstances succeed in preventing it. But the
time is approaching when we will have to undertake a broad
operation in Gaza."


3. (C) COMMENT: Israel's security establishment is
ratcheting up the pressure on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Yesterday night's aistrike with a precision guided munition
on the Hamas police station was the first such attack against
a Hamas installation in recent months. Last week, Israel's
security establishment decided to initiate a number of
sanctions against the Gaza Strip in accordance with the GOI's
September 19 declaration of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip
as a "hostile entity." Fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip have
already been cut in response to continued Qassam rocket and
mortar launches. Israeli Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz on
October 29 held up proposed cuts of electricity to the Gaza
Strip, contending that more research into the legal
justification for such cuts needs to be done before they can
be carried out. The GOI's warnings over the past several
weeks about such punitive actions -- in combination with
Barak's repeated warnings of a future large-scale ground
operation -- appear aimed at encouraging Gaza's population to
pressure Hamas and other terrorist organizations to stop
Qassam rocket and mortar launches against civilian population
centers in Israel.

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JONES