FURTHER NABLUS ARRESTS AND INCURSIONS; FUTURE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001329 SIPDIS OPS PASS TO THE SECRETARY'S PARTY NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/ROSENSTOCK/SACHAR; NSC FOR PASCUAL; TREASURY FOR ROSE/HAJAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2018 TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV KWBG PTER KTFN KISL IS SUBJECT: FURTHER NABLUS ARRESTS AND INCURSIONS; FUTURE OF SHOPPING MALL REMAINS IN LIMBO REF: A. JERUSALEM 1203 ¶B. JERUSALEM 1192 ¶C. OSC GMP20080719966034 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: According to PA security and Nablus business contacts, the IDF made several incursions into Nablus July 21-22 and made twenty arrests, including a PLC member and board members of al-I'timan, the developer of the Nablus shopping mall ordered closed by the GOI on July 6 (reftels). The lawyer for al-I'timan told EconOff he is discussing with the GOI the possibility of allowing individual shops in the mall to remain. Shops are open for now, but al-I'timan's offices remain sealed. End summary. Nablus Incursions and Arrests Continue: Focus on Nablus Mall Developer -------------- ¶2. (C) PA security commanders report multiple IDF incursions into Nablus and nearby villages July 21-22, and twenty arrests. The IDF raided the Nablus mall and surrounding area on July 21 and arrested Hamas PLC member Muna Mansur and several others. The IDF also entered Balata Camp late July 21 and arrested three Fatah members there. PA security contacts also report that six IDF vehicles traveled through Nablus, Jenin and Kufr Dan on July 21 without conducting any searches or making arrests. (Note: Advisors to President Abbas told POL FSN on July 22 that Abbas is angry about the uptick in IDF incursions, which he considers intentional IDF attempts to interfere with and embarrass the PA security forces. End note). ¶3. (C) Nablus business contacts report the IDF arrested several al-I'timan board members and other Nablus business figures on July 21, including board members Othman Musleh, Imad Kan'an and Ibrahim al-Sakhil, secretary of al-I'timan's board, Einas al-Faqih, and the director of the mall, Hassan Abu Zant. The IDF also arrested brothers Allan and Shadi Judallah, part owners of the land on which the mall was built. The arrests follow the July 14 detention of prominent Nablus businessman and al-I'timan board member Ziad Anabtawi, a long-time ConGen contact, at the Allenby Bridge upon his return from Jordan. Jawwad Boulos, an attorney representing both al-I'timan and Ziad Anabtawi, told EconOff that Anabtawi has been informed that he is being held for donating money to "suspicious people and organizations" and will be held at least until his next hearing on July 28. Anabtawi, in a phone conversation with EconChief following the mall's closure, adamantly denied any personal or organizational connection to Hamas. Mall Developer Still Shuttered, But Individual Shops Could Remain Open -------------- ¶4. (C) Al-I'timan's attorney, Boulos, told EconOff on July 18 that he is discussing with Israeli officials the possibility that individual retail shops in the mall may remain open. Boulos said those shops that could demonstrate to the GOI that they have no legal ties to al-I'timan should be allowed to continue operating. Boulos said he visited the mall on July 17 and found all the retail shops open. Al-I'timan's offices remain closed and sealed. Boulos said he still plans to appeal the July 6 closure order on al-I'timan's behalf. PA Still Fuming About Raids -------------- ¶5. (C) Aziz Abu Dagga, chief of staff to PM Fayyad, told EconChief on July 21 that he does not understand the GOI's focus on al-I'timan. Al-I'timan, he said, is a public company whose financial records are available to all and whose board members have traveled freely in recent years. If the GOI has information that the company is diverting funds or supporting Hamas, he said, it should have provided it to the PA and not taken unilateral action. He added that Israeli actions are contributing to support for Hamas in Nablus. PM Fayyad used a public event in Ramallah on July 19 to condemn Israeli actions in Nablus as "illegal and illegitimate" and as undermining the PA (ref C). WALLES