JENIN: QABATIYA REMAINS TENSE; IDF INCURSION ENDS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000764 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2018 TAGS: KWBG PINS IS PGOV PTER SUBJECT: JENIN: QABATIYA REMAINS TENSE; IDF INCURSION ENDS WITHOUT ARRESTS REF: A. JERUSALEM 757 ¶B. JERUSALEM 753 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. PA security forces (PASF) maintain checkpoints in and around Qabatiya as of 1300 local May 7 amidst tensions over the May 6 shooting of bystander Mu'min Kmayl and PASF arrest of two PIJ activists. West Bank National Security Forces (NSF) commander MG Ali told local press he established a committee to investigate the bystander's shooting, but believes gunmen, not PASF, shot Kmayl. About 100 new troops (Presidential Guard (PG) and Preventive Security) entered Jenin from Jericho and Ramallah late May 6 to reinforce security efforts. Jenin NSF commander BG Sulayman Imran said PIJ activists shot by PASF on May 6 were armed and "were attempting to obstruct justice," and security forces acted properly in response. MG Ali reported that the IDF entered eastern Jenin late May 6, but left a couple hours later without making any arrests. He said the NSF protested the incursion through the Jenin District Coordination Office (DCO). PM Salam Fayyad also protested the IDF incursion to the Consul General and USSC LTG Dayton and asked that the Secretary pursue the matter with Israeli MoD Ehud Barak. End summary. High Tension in Qabatiya; NSF Orders Investigation into Bystander Shooting -------------- ¶2. (C) PG/NSF/riot police maintain checkpoints in and around Qabatiya as of 1300 local May 7 amidst tensions over the May 6 shooting of a bystander and PASF arrest of two PIJ activists (ref A). West Bank NSF commander MG Ali told POL FSN that about 100 new troops (PG and Preventive Security) entered Jenin from Jericho and Ramallah late May 6 to reinforce security efforts. West Bank NSF commander MG Thiab Ali said much of the 400-man force that deployed to Qabatiya had left the town following riots over bystander Mu,min Kmayl's shooting. (Note: Kmayl remains in a Nablus hospital listed as "clinically dead." End note). MG Ali said he ordered forces back and personally accompanied them inside Qabatiya. He told local press that he established a committee to investigate the shooting, but believes gunmen, not PASF, shot Kmayl. ¶3. (C) BG Sulayman Imran told POL FSN that the PIJ activists shot by PASF on May 6 were armed and "were attempting to obstruct justice" by releasing jailed PIJ members at the Qabatiya police station. He said PASF acted properly in shooting the PIJ activists in the feet and arresting them, and "the PA will enforce the law against those who serve foreign interests and spoil good relations between the security forces and residents." A PIJ spokesman in Qabatiya told local press that it supports the PA security campaign but warned the PA "not to attempt to collect the weapons of resistance." PA Patrols 3 New Villages -------------- ¶4. (SBU) PA security deployed presence patrols to three villages south of Jenin (Zababdah, Misilya and Marka) on May 7, and did not encounter any opposition. IDF Incursion Ends; No Arrests -------------- ¶5. (C) MG Ali reported that the IDF entered eastern Jenin late May 6, but left a couple hours later without making any arrests. Ali said the NSF protested the incursion through the Jenin DCO. PM Salam Fayyad told the Consul General and USSC LTG Dayton in separate conversations on May 7 that the incursion was highly damaging and inconsistent with Israeli MoD Ehud Barak's undertakings during recent tripartite meetings with Secretary Rice. Fayyad asked that Secretary Rice call Barak to register concern about the incident. WALLES