VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHJM #3519 2211413
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091413Z AUG 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4132
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY
UNCLAS JERUSALEM 003519
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS, USAID
FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG PHUM
SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM AUGUST 9 SITREP
1. (SBU) Summary. Three Qassam rockets were fired from
northern Gaza into Israel on August 8. The IDF responded
with shelling, resulting in at least two injuries. In the
West Bank, an Israeli air strike August 9 in the Jenin
refugee camp killed two Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
activists, including the head of the PIJ military wing in
Jenin. Palestinian media reported that 5-6 rockets that
originated in Lebanon landed in open fields in the northern
West Bank near Jenin. The Rafah, Karni/al-Mintar, and Nahal
Oz crossings remain closed on August 9. End summary.
Military Developments
---------------------
2. (SBU) Overall violence in the Gaza Strip remains low
for a second day in a row, August 8-9. Palestinian
militants, however, launched three Qassam rockets on August 8
from northern Gaza in the direction of the Western Negev.
There were no reported injuries or damage. The military wing
of Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed
responsibility for the rocket launches. The IDF responded to
the rocket fire by shelling areas in northern Gaza, injuring
at least two Palestinians.
3. (SBU) In the West Bank, Israeli aircraft fired missiles
August 9 at two houses in the Jenin refugee camp, killing two
wanted PIJ activists, including the head of the PIJ military
wing in Jenin. The apparent target of the Israeli air strike
was the head of the PIJ military wing for the West Bank,
Husam Jaradat, who escaped without injury. The IDF also
conducted raids into villages near Jenin in search of
suspected militants. The IDF arrested two wanted PIJ and
al-Aqsa militants in separate operations on August 8. During
both operations, the IDF clashed with gunmen and Palestinians
throwing stones, resulting in at least four injuries. IDF
units operating in the Balatah and Askar refugee camps in
Nablus resulted in at least three Palestinian injuries and
the arrest of one Fatah activist. The IDF arrested an
additional three Palestinians overnight August 8-9 in
Ramallah and Bethlehem.
4. (SBU) Palestinian media reported August 9 that 5-6
rockets originating from Lebanon fell into open areas near
Faquah village, east of Jenin, causing no injuries or
property damage. Arab and Israeli media also reported August
9 that an Israeli air strike on the Ein al-Hilweh refugee
camp in Lebanon, which killed four Palestinians, targeted the
headquarters of senior Fatah militia leader Munir Mouqdah.
5. (SBU) Israeli authorities on August 9 discharged from
an Israeli hospital Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)
Speaker Aziz Dweik following complaints of chest pain on
August 7. Dweik was returned to the Ofer prison facility.
PA Deputy Prime Minister Naser Eddin al-Sha'er said August 8
that lab samples of a suspicious powder discovered in an
envelope delivered to the Prime Minister's office in Ramallah
have been sent to Amman for additional testing. Laboratory
testing has failed to reveal the nature of the substance,
which hospitalized several personnel at the Prime Minister's
office.
Humanitarian Update
-------------------
6. (SBU) The Rafah crossing remains closed August 9. The
Karni/al-Mintar and Nahal Oz crossings are closed August 9,
as they were August 8, for unspecified security reasons,
according to both PalTrade employee Mohammed Skeik and
Gaza-based USAID staff. Both crossings were last open August
7.
7. (SBU) All ten electricity feeder lines from Israel into
Gaza are operational on August 9.
WALLES