VZCZCXRO8708
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0865 1411414
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201414Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1587
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY
UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000865
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KWBG IS PGOV PINS PTER
SUBJECT: JENIN: VILLAGE PATROLS AND ARRESTS CONTINUE
REF: A. JERUSALEM 852
B. JERUSALEM 764
C. JERUSALEM 757
1. (SBU) Summary. PA security forces (PASF) continue
patrols in Jenin area villages as of 1400 local on May 20.
PA security commanders plan new patrols and raids across the
Jenin Governorate in coming days. PIJ suspects remain in
custody, but have not been formally charged. End summary.
PASF Patrols Continue Apace,
No Plans to End Operation Yet
-----------------------------
2. (SBU) National Security Forces (NSF) and police
commanders report that PASF are continuing patrols and raids
in Jenin Governorate, entering Yabad (Area B, west of Jenin)
and smaller nearby villages early May 20. According to West
Bank NSF commander MG Thiab Ali (Abu al-Fatah) and police
contacts, nearly all PASF who deployed to Jenin on May 2
remain there. Beyond those forces regularly stationed in
Jenin, there are 120 NSF and 279 PG soldiers, 65 public order
police and 30 deployed intelligence officers from Preventive
Security (PSO), General Intelligence, "Military Intelligence"
(Istikhbarat) and "Military Police." 200 additional PG
soldiers who deployed after clashes with PIJ in Qabatiya on
May 6 (Refs B and C) have redeployed to Bethlehem to protect
the Palestine Investment Conference, after MG Ali and Jenin
NSF commander BG Sulayman Imran assessed that the situation
had calmed and they were no longer needed.
3. (SBU) NSF and police contacts compiled a statistical
roll-up of accomplishments from May 3-20:
-- PASF seized and dismantled/sold off 449 stolen vehicles
(stolen vehicles are generally already at least partially
disassembled for parts when seized), and confiscated 84
unregistered vehicles;
-- PASF served 162 court summons, mostly to criminal
defendants in B Areas;
-- Court officials and police report closing 1,348 criminal
and civil enforcement cases (this figure includes everything
from felony cases to minor offenses such as traffic
infractions, most of which were expeditiously resolved with
impositions of fines or probation).
4. (SBU) PA security commanders plan additional patrols in
the greater Jenin area in coming days, including in villages
the PA has already visited. MG Ali said he wants residents,
and especially those in smaller towns that PA security has
not visited since 2000, to understand that the Jenin security
operation is not a one-time "show," but rather the beginning
of a sustained commitment to law and order.
PIJ Militants in Custody
------------------------
5. (SBU) PA security commanders report that eight PIJ
members are in PA custody in Jenin as of 1200 local on May
20, all of whom have requested inclusion in the PA-GOI
disarmament/amnesty deal. Two are minor PIJ supporters from
the Khzaymiah family who remain under PA guard in Jenin's
hospital (shot in the feet while attempting to force police
to free a jailed PIJ militant), and the other six are:
a) Umar al-Bzur, arrested April 28;
b) Salih Abu Zayyad (al-Quds Brigades cell leader), arrested
May 11;
c) Ala'a Abu Rub, arrested May 12
d) Yusif Kmayl, arrested May 12
e) Abd al-Fatah Khzaymiah, in General Intelligence protective
custody since May 18; and
f) Jihad Nawadha, arrested May 16.
WALLES