JENIN: PA ARRESTS PIJ MILITANT AND CRIMINALS, IDF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000791 SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWBG PINS IS PGOV PTER SUBJECT: JENIN: PA ARRESTS PIJ MILITANT AND CRIMINALS, IDF MAKES MULTIPLE INCURSIONS REF: A. JERUSALEM 777 ¶B. JERUSALEM 764 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. PA security forces (PASF) conducted patrols in Jenin and 32 nearby villages May 10-12, arresting a senior leader of the PIJ military wing and 11 wanted criminals. According to PA security commanders, the IDF entered Jenin and nearby Area A towns late May 11/early May 12, unsuccessfully targeting PIJ militants. A Jenin PIJ spokesman condemned PA security efforts as "complementing the Israel occupation's role in arresting and assassinating Palestinian resistance fighters." PM Salam Fayyad visited Jenin and Qabatiya May 11 and urged PA forces to continue efforts to improve law and order. End summary. PA Steps Up Patrols/Raids in Jenin and Nearby Villages -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In May 12 phone calls with PolOff and PolFSN, PA security forces (PASF) commanders reported company-size (about 100 men) patrols underway as of 1300 local on May 12 in villages west of Jenin near the separation barrier (Kfrayt and al-Tarim in Area A, Khuljan, Khirbit Mas'ud, Zabda, Umm Dar and Tura al-Gharbiya in Area B, and Tura al-Sharqiya and Dahir al-Abd in Area C),with previous IDF clearance. At 1000 local, PASF patrols entered Yabad (Area B, west of Jenin near Mevo Dotan checkpoint). They were welcomed by villagers with roses and rice and given Fatah pamphlets pledging support for PA security efforts. Late May 11 and early May 12, PASF patrolled through villages southwest of Jenin (Fahmah, Kufr Ra'i and al-Zawiya in Area A, Arrabah and Ajjah split between A/B Areas, and al-Mansura off Hwy 60 in Area C). ¶3. (SBU) PASF officers report sending three separate, company-size elements on patrols May 10-11, the first to villages in the extreme north/northeast edges of the West Bank (Faqqu'a, 'Arrana, Arubanah and al-Jalamah, all Area B), the second to towns/villages northwest/west of Jenin (al-Yamun, Kufr Dan, al-Hashmiyah, Kufr Qud in Area A, and Zububa, Tinak, al-Taybah, Rumanah, and 'Anin in Area B),and the third to the Mislah, Qabatiya and Aqqabah areas south of Jenin. Police and National Security Forces (NSF) contacts report seizing 95 stolen cars and motorbikes and having these disassembled for parts or crushed. Security contacts seizing illegally-excavated archaeological materials in Faqqu'a and 10 boxes of 5.56mm (M-16) ammunition in Aqqabah, and arrests of 11 wanted criminals in the greater Jenin area. PA Arrests Senior PIJ Militant; PIJ Spokesman Criticizes PA Operations -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Security contacts report that a Preventive Security (PSO) and Presidential Guard (PG) element arrested senior al-Quds Brigades (PIJ military wing) leader Salih Abu Zayyad in Jenin on May 11. Jenin PIJ spokesman Abd al-Fattah Khzaymih told local press that PASF are "complementing the Israel occupation's role in arresting and assassinating Palestinian resistance fighters." He said PASF have threatened to arrest him if he does not turn himself in, but he will not comply, and warned that "PIJ will never lay down the legitimate weapons of the resistance, even if dozens of its cadres are arrested or assassinated." (Note: Khzaymih's rhetoric has undergone a major shift since May 7, when he said PIJ welcomes PA security efforts. End note). Fayyad Tours Jenin, Lauds PASF Law and Order Efforts -------------- ¶5. (SBU) PM Fayyad visited Jenin, Jenin Refugee Camp and Qabatiya May 11 and said there has been considerable progress in implementing the PA's security plan and establishing law and order. Meeting with security chiefs and local leaders, Fayyad commended PASF for initial successes and urged them to continue efforts to improve security and the rule of law, which he said will move Palestinians closer to ending the occupation and establishing a state. He said the PA Cabinet will soon approve almost 200 development projects for areas affected by the separation barrier. PA Complains of "Frustrating" IDF Incursions that Disrupt PASF Efforts -------------- ¶6. (SBU) West Bank NSF commander MG Thiab Ali (Abu al-Fatah) JERUSALEM 00000791 002 OF 002 and Jenin NSF commander BG Sulayman Imran report multiple IDF incursions into central Jenin, Jenin Refugee Camp, and the Area A villages Burqin and al-Yamun (west of Jenin) late May 11/early May 12. They said the incursions are frustrating and often target the same militant cells that the PA is attempting to disrupt and arrest. PM Fayyad made similar points in a conversation with the Consul General on May 12. MG Ali said the PA will continue their security campaign regardless of IDF interference, but Israeli involvement provides ammunition for Hamas and PIJ to malign the PASF. Police Chief Hazim Attallah told PolOff May 12 that there has generally been less GOI interference in Jenin than in last year's Nablus operation and the PA will work without excuses to make its security campaign a success. Press report that the IDF ransacked the homes of three PIJ militants and left warnings with the militants' families, but departed Jenin without making arrests. WALLES