GAZA UPDATE DECEMBER 30, 1300 LOCAL: 2 ISRAELIS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 002309

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018
TAGS: KWBG IS PTER MOPS ASEC
SUBJECT: GAZA UPDATE DECEMBER 30, 1300 LOCAL: 2 ISRAELIS,
AT LEAST 12 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN CONTINUING VIOLENCE

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


1. (SBU) Summary. From 1800 local o December 29 to 1300 on
December 30, rockets kiled two Israelis and injured at least
nine others and Israeli airstrikes killed at least 16 more
alestinians. Palestinian medical, UN and NGO staffreport
at least 358 Palestinian deaths and 1070 njuries requiring
hospital treatment since Decemer 27. West Bank protests and
Israeli incursion continue. Hamas rejected offers by
President Mhmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and PLO officials to meet
o discuss the situation in Gaza. End summary.

ong-Range Rockets and Mortar Attacks Kill
Two Isaelis; Airstrikes Kill 16 More Gazans
--------------


2. (SBU) A brrage of five Grad-type rockets struck Ashdod
andYavneh late December 29, killing one Israeli womanin
Ashdod and injuring four others, according topress. Five
more rockes hit Ashkelon, causing minor property damage but
no injuries. A combined Qassam/mortar attack on he Nahal Oz
IDF base killed an IDF soldier and ijured five others,
according to Israeli press. t least 40 additional Qassam
rockets were fired fom Gaza as of 1300 local, according to
Gaza-base contacts, most striking near kibbutzim on Gaza's
perimeter and in/around Sderot, injuring two Isralis and
damaging several buildings. Militants fred a total of 91
rockets and 10 mortars at Israe on December 29.


3. (SBU) Gaza-based sources ad press report that at 1715 on
December 29, IAF irstrikes destroyed a home of Hamas
military-win leader Mahir Zaqut in Bayt Lahiya, killing
seve members of his family, but not Zaqut, who was not t
home. Five other Palestinians were killed when the IAF
struck a house in Bayt Hanun suspected of belonging to a
senior Hamas military-wing leader. At 1720, IAF fire killed
a civil defense guard at an installation near an UNRWA school
in al-Qarara. At around 1840, at least three Palestinians
were killed and nine injured when IAF rockets struck the
house of Hamas military-wing activist Ayman Siyam in
Jabaliya. According to Gaza-based contacts, an Israeli
airstrike killed two young girls at 0930 on December 30 who
were walking near a donkey cart in Bayt Hanun. IAF
airstrikes also caused heavy damage to the Hamas "Interior
Ministry," "Foreign Ministry" and "Prime Minister's Office"
in Gaza City early December 30. Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV carried
purported footage of top Hamas military-wing leaders Ahmad
al-Ja'bari and Ahmad Ghandur meeting with Hamas fighters in
Gaza and inspecting rocket launchers on December 29.


4. (C) Gaza PLC member Rawiya al-Shawwa told PolOff that
several Israeli tanks and armored infantry carriers were
visible December 29-30 opposite the perimeter fence at
Shuja'iya and near the Karni/al-Mintar crossing. She said
they frequently move along the IDF patrol road there and in
open areas on the perimeter south of Jabaliya and Bayt Hanun,
but residents have not observed significant movement of
Israeli vehicles into north Gaza as of 1300 local on December

30.

West Bank and Jerusalem Unrest Increases
--------------


5. (SBU) Clashes erupted late December 29 between
Palestinian stone throwers and the IDF and border police in
Husan village near Bethlehem, resulting in seven injuries of
Palestinian protesters. Five other Palestinians were injured
in skirmishes with the IDF and Israeli police near Qalandia
and Betuniya crossings and around Bethlehem on December 29.
Press report that an unknown gunman fired shots at Israeli
border policemen near a checkpoint on the al-Shayya route (on
the rear southern slope of the Mount of Olives) late December

29. In Kedumim settlement, an unknown attacker stabbed and
lightly injured an Israeli settler, according to press, and
police are searching for the assailant. Palestinians threw
stones at Israeli buses near Pisgat Ze'ev in East Jerusalem
and on Rt. 443 northwest of Jerusalem on December 29. No
injuries were reported. In Shu'fat Refugee Camp in East
Jerusalem, Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police
over removal of a memorial tent placed to receive condolences
for those killed in Gaza.


6. (SBU) A Presidential Guard (PG) officer, Usama Dwaykat,
was killed in intra-Palestinian violence in Jab'a village
near Jenin on December 29 after National Security Forces
(NSF) and PG soldiers responded to rock-throwing protesters.
The situation in Jab'a remains tense as of 1300 on December

30. The IDF arrested 11 Palestinians late December 29 in
incursions near Nablus, Hebron and Ramallah.

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7. (SBU) All students councils at Palestinian universities
in the West Bank announced suspension of classes for the rest
of the week to protest Israeli military operations in Gaza.

Political Reactions
--------------


8. (SBU) At a December 29 PLO Executive Committee (ExComm)
meeting in Ramallah, PM Salam Fayyad and ExComm
Secretary-General Yassir Abd Rabbo clashed with PLO faction
leaders (particularly Khalida Jarrar from the PFLP) for
calling for an uprising in the West Bank to respond to
Israeli operations in Gaza. Fayyad, supported by President
Abbas, said that the PA government will not tolerate any
attempts to bring back chaos to the West Bank. The PLO
executive committee released a statement following the
meeting condemning "Israeli aggression against Gaza," and
calling for the international community to protect the
Palestinian people. The statement said that all factions
must unite "to confront the main challenge of the aggression
on Gaza." The ExComm praised the Egyptian President and GOE
for their helpful role in advancing Palestinian interests,
and offered condolences for the death of an Egyptian border
police in clashes on the Gaza-Sinai border on December 29.


9. (SBU) Hamas and PIJ refused President Abbas' invitation
to convene a meeting of all factions under the rubric of the
National and Islamic Forces (NIF) to discuss the situation in
Gaza, with Hamas insisting that Abbas first release all Hamas
prisoners.


10. (C) Gaza City-based PLO Executive Committee member Riyad
al-Khudari told PolOff by phone late December 29 that most
Gazans, even those like himself who oppose Hamas and want
restoration of PA authority in Gaza, do not believe Israeli
military operations will weaken Hamas rule. He said most of
the airstrikes have hit the outward symbols of Hamas
authority and killed many police, many of whom are
politically neutral, but have done little to weaken Hamas
control.
WALLES