AL-AQSA BRIGADES GUNMEN TORCH NABLUS GOVERNOR'S

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000639 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWBG PTER IS PGOV SUBJECT: AL-AQSA BRIGADES GUNMEN TORCH NABLUS GOVERNOR'S CAR; 4 INJURED IN SHOOTOUT ¶1. (SBU) According to Fatah and PA security contacts, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades gunmen Tha'ar Tirawi and associates attacked Nablus Governor Jamal Muhaysin in Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus on April 13, torching Muhaysin's vehicle. Four Palestinians, including one of Muhaysin's bodyguards, were injured in the ensuing shootout when PA security forces entered the camp to extricate Muhaysin. ¶2. (SBU) PA security contacts told POL FSN that Tirawi had been in General Intelligence (Mukhabarat) custody for the last four months, and some of the other PA security bodies opposed his recent release. (Comment: Despite progress in the Nablus security operation late last year, several Fatah-linked militant cells resist PA authority, and mechanisms to prosecute arrested militants remain weak. End comment). WALLES