PALESTINIAN POLICE OFFICER KILLS IDF SOLDIER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000266 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, SEMEP, AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LT GEN SELVA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2020 TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG KPAL IS SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN POLICE OFFICER KILLS IDF SOLDIER Classified By: Consul General Daniel Rubinstein for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. A plain-clothes Palestinian Authority (PA) Civil Police Captain stabbed an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Sergeant near Nablus on February 10. The IDF Sergeant subsequently died of his injuries. PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad issued a statement later that day condemning the action as contrary to Palestinian national interests. Fayyad told the Consul General that an official inquiry is underway. The perpetrator is in Israeli custody, and both Israeli and Palestinian investigations are ongoing. The IDF's West Bank commander told local press that, based on a search of the perpetrator's home, there is no evident connection with any terrorist organization. Post's translation of the Prime Minister's statement follows in paragraph eight. END SUMMARY. FATAL KNIFE ATTACK IN A TRAFFIC JAM -------------- ¶2. (SBU) According to media accounts and PA sources, at approximately 2:00 p.m. local time on February 10, IDF Sergeant Ihab Khatib of the Kfir Brigade was stabbed in his military jeep near the Tappuah/Zatara traffic circle on Route 60, about ten kilometers south of Nablus. Note: The Tappuah checkpoint is fully manned by IDF personnel, unlike some West Bank checkpoints that the IDF has removed or downgraded in recent months. End note. A PA police Captain, Yousef al Khatib, reportedly walked up to the IDF soldier's jeep and stabbed him at least twice with a knife before IDF Sergeant Khatib managed to drive off. The jeep overturned, complicating the victim's wounds. Ihab Khatib was pronounced dead at the hospital later in the day, according to Israeli media. An off-duty security guard for the Rechalim settlement (located just south of Tappuah) reportedly apprehended the perpetrator and turned him over to Israeli authorities. GOI-PA COORDINATION -------------- ¶3. (C) Shortly after the attack, PA Director of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh told Post he received a call from Brigadier General Eitan Dangot, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, expressing grave concern over the incident. Al-Sheikh said he expressed condolences to Dangot and promised to convey the message to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad. PA RESPONSE AND CONDEMNATION -------------- ¶4. (C) Fayyad issued a statement later that day condemning the action. "This incident is condemned by us, and it is contrary to Palestinian national interests, to the efforts of the (Palestinian National) Authority, as well as to the commitments we have undertaken." Fayyad told the Consul General that a PA investigation was underway, and had so far revealed nothing in Mahmoud al Khatib's profile, background, or behavior that might have foreshadowed such an action. Fayyad added that the PA intends to take additional steps to improve the vetting of its uniformed officers. While the perpetrator and the victim share the same last name, Fayyad said he was unaware of any indication that the two are related. Note: Ihab Khatib is from a Druze village in Israel; Mahmoud al Khatib is a Palestinian Sunni Muslim. National Security Forces (NSF) Jenin Area Commander Colonel Radi Abu Asida said the two may have both served (for the IDF and PA police, respectively) in Qalqiliya several years ago, and could possibly have known each other then. End Note. IDF REACTION AND DEMOLITION THREAT -------------- ¶5. (C) PA security contacts confirmed to Post that the IDF raided Mahmoud al Khatib's home in the Area B village of Al Khuljan, west of Jenin, later on February 10. During the raid, IDF soldiers reportedly arrested several of his brothers and confiscated computers, cell phones, and documents, these contacts said. The IDF West Bank Commander, Brigadier General Nitzan Alon, told IDF Army Radio that the IDF found no connection between Mahmoud al Khatib and any terrorist organization, nor did al Khatib have any clear ideological affiliation. "I met the murderer shortly after the stabbing, and all he said was that he was fed up with living, and this looks like something that is related to his personal circumstances," Alon said. JERUSALEM 00000266 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Colonel Abu Asida informed Post that the IDF summoned Mahmoud al Khatib's father to its Salem military base on February 11. According to Abu Asida, the father phoned his family from the base and told them to evacuate their home, as the IDF intended to demolish it. Note: There have been virtually no homes demolished as a punitive measure in the West Bank since 2005. Israel is obliged by the Roadmap not to demolish any home as a punitive action. End Note. TREND SPECULATION -------------- ¶7. (C) PA security sources have noted an uptick in knife confiscations at checkpoints in the West Bank in 2010. However, they concede they have only indirect knowledge of the knife incidents, since they occur at Israeli checkpoints rather than in PA-controlled areas of the West Bank. FULL TEXT OF PM FAYYAD STATEMENT (POST TRANSLATION) -------------- -------------- ¶8. (U) BEGIN TEXT 10 February 2010 Prime Minister Condemns Stabbing and Killing of Israeli Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the stabbing that led to the death of an Israeli this afternoon, and stressed that the (Palestinian) National Authority will resolutely continue to take all measures to prevent recurrence of this incident, and said, "This incident is condemned by us, and it is contrary to Palestinian national interests, to the efforts of the (Palestinian National) Authority, as well as to the commitments we have undertaken." Fayyad added that our people are united behind the approach of peaceful opposition to settlements, to the wall, and to the practices of extremist settlers, and that this approach finds full support of the (Palestinian) National Authority and at the same time enjoys widespread international support. Fayyad warned of the risk of being drawn into violence that has caused tangible damage to the higher interests of our people, and called on all citizens to be vigilant of the consequences of these actions. END TEXT RUBINSTEIN