JENIN: PASF EXCHANGE FIRE WITH GUNMEN IN QABATIYA,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000757

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2018
TAGS: KWBG PINS IS PGOV PTER
SUBJECT: JENIN: PASF EXCHANGE FIRE WITH GUNMEN IN QABATIYA,
CONTINUE ARRESTS/VEHICLE SEIZURES

REF: JERUSALEM 753

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


1. (C) Summary. PA security forces (PASF) clashed with
gunmen in Qabatiya on May 6, with a bystander killed and two
PIJ activists injured in separate exchanges of gunfire.
Security contacts report that a PASF patrol was attacked with
a pipe bomb and pelted with stones. West Bank National
Security Forces (NSF) commander MG Thiab Ali said he will
request IDF clearance to move additional NSF soldiers into
Jenin from Jericho and Ramallah. PA Military Intelligence
(Istikhbarat) officers report they arrested an AWOL NSF
officer with militant ties in Qabatiya on May 6 and are
seeking to arrest other rogue PASF officers, most notably
al-Aqsa Brigades leader Nassir Khzaymih, who publicly
threatened to assassinate the Jenin police chief on May 6.
NSF/police contacts report seizing 20 more
unregistered/stolen cars and that Jenin courts have closed
files on 82 criminal cases since May 3. End summary.

Qabatiya: Gunmen Fire, Throw Pipe Bomb
at PG/NSF Patrol, Student Killed
--------------


2. (C) A 400-man PG/NSF/riot police force is controlling
Qabatiya's entrances and conducting patrols on major streets
as of 1500 local. According to West Bank NSF commander MG
Thiab Ali, a 200-man NSF/Presidential Guards (PG) force
entered Qabatiya early May 6 and at about 0500 briefly came
under fire from 1-2 unknown gunmen. The PASF returned fire
and the gunmen fled. A bystander, 21-year-old university
student Mu,min Fawaz Kmayl, was shot in the head during the
exchange (unclear whether by the gunmen or PASF) and later
died at a Nablus hospital. MG Ali said PASF have searched
several buildings but have not apprehended suspects in the
bystander's shooting. Jenin NSF commander BG Sulayman Imran
denied media reports that the shooting happened after the
PASF patrol had been pelted with stones, but acknowledged
that some youths had thrown stones at PASF inside Qabatiya
after the shooting. (Note: PG contacts report that PASF
briefly left most of Qabatiya mid-morning May 6 while
negotiations were underway with local clan leaders to reduce
tensions, but had returned by 1400. However, BG Imran denied
that PASF had left Qabatiya anytime after the shooting. End
note).


3. (C) Security contacts also report that two PG soldiers
were lightly injured at about 1100 local when a pipe bomb
exploded near their jeep, and that PG troops shot and injured
two PIJ activists at a checkpoint. A PIJ spokesman in
Qabatiya denied that any PIJ cells had attacked PASF patrols
and said PIJ supports the PA's law and order campaign.


4. (C) MG Ali said the PASF brought two more companies
(about 200 more men, for a total of 400) into Qabatiya
mid-morning and have a large presence in the neighborhood
where the shooting occurred. He said most of the 485-man
force that deployed on May 3 is committed to operations in
Qabatiya, and he will request a few hundred more NSF soldiers
and police ("as many as the IDF permits me to bring in") to
allow simultaneous security actions.

PA Intel Arrests Rogue NSF Officer;
Al-Aqsa Brigades Threaten PASF Leaders
--------------


5. (C) PA Military Intelligence (Istikhbarat) officers
report they arrested AWOL NSF officer Nimr Shahadah al-Absi,
who they said has militant (PIJ/PRC) ties, in Qabatiya on May
6 and took him to the Jenin Muqata'a to face military court
charges. Istikhbarat officers say they are seeking to arrest
other rogue PASF officers in Qabatiya (most al-Aqsa activists
suspected of working with PIJ and/or receiving foreign money
for terrorist activities),most notably al-Aqsa Brigades
leader Nassir Khzaymih, who they said also has PIJ/PRC ties.
For his part, Khzaymih publicly warned the PASF to stop
targeting "resistance fighters" and threatened to assassinate
Jenin police chief Wasim Jayyusi on May 6.


6. (C) NSF contacts said cooperation with the Istikhbarat is
excellent, but the NSF/police are trying to improve
information sharing and coordinate all reconnaissance/arrest
plans with Preventive Security (PSO) and the General
Intelligence and get lists of wanted persons. MG Ali implied
on May 5 that intelligence coordination had been imperfect so
far and needs to improve.


JERUSALEM 00000757 002 OF 002


PA Concludes Arrests/Seizures
in Jenin, Nearby Villages
--------------


7. (SBU) Since 1600 on May 5, the NSF and police have been
operating checkpoints on major roads inside Jenin with orders
to seize armaments and unregistered vehicles. NSF, PG and
police conducted presence patrols and raids in
central/eastern Jenin and villages southwest of Jenin
(Burqin, Bir al-Basha and al-Shuhada),arresting eleven
wanted criminals and seizing 20 unregistered/stolen cars
there. A pharmacy was burned in Jenin late May 5 (the
perpetrators and their motivation are unknown).

82 Criminal Cases Closed
--------------


8. (SBU) Police contacts report that Jenin's magistrate
court has closed files on 82 criminal cases since May 3 as
wanted persons responded to summonses. Most of the cases
involved minor crimes for which no punishment or only fines
were handed out after the suspects appeared in court.


Information Campaign: Emphasizing
the Operation's Palestinian Face
--------------


9. (SBU) The PASF are trying to build public support for the
security operation by distributing photos/footage of their
enthusiastic public reception on May 2 and handing out fliers
emphasizing that this is a Palestinian-ordered and )funded
operation. The fliers provide a hotline to report criminal
activity. Jenin Mufti Muhammad Salah instructed Jenin
residents to obey the law and help the PA to achieve its
security objectives.
WALLES