US embassy cable - 05JERUSALEM2643

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 002643 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NEA FOR FO; NEA/SA/EX FOR AUSTIN-FERGUSON; DEPT FOR 
DS/IP/ITA; DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DANIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PBTS, PHUM, KWBG, KPAL, IS, ASEC, SItrep 
SUBJECT: WB/G SITREP: JUNE 27, 2005 (1800 HOURS LOCAL) -- 
TWO ISRAELIS KILLED IN ATTACK NEAR HEBRON; SETTLERS INVADE 
CLOSED MILITARY AREA IN GAZA. 
 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  Palestinian gunmen shot and killed two 
Israelis and injured two others outside Bayt Haggai 
settlement near Hebron June 24.  PIJ and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' 
Brigades claimed credit.  In subsequent IDF incursions into 
the area, the IDF shot and injured two Palestinians in Dura 
village, near Hebron.  Israeli media and the IDF reported 
that ten Israeli settlers, one Israeli policeman, four 
Israeli Border Police officers and five IDF soldiers were 
lightly injured June 26 after dozens of settlers entered a 
closed military zone in al-Mowassi, Gaza, as the IDF was 
demolishing 11 vacant structures there.  End summary. 
 
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West Bank 
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2.  (SBU) ATTACKS: 
 
-- Deaths: On Friday June 24, Palestinian gunmen fired on a 
group of Israelis, killing two and injuring two, as they 
waited at a hitchhiking post outside the West Bank Settlement 
of Beit Haggai near Hebron. Al-Aqsa Brigades and Islamic 
Jihad claimed joint responsibility for the attack. The IDF 
imposed a curfew on the villages of al-Fawar, Yatta, Dura, 
and Samou while searching for the perpetrators. 
 
-- Injuries:  In Dura, two Palestinians were lightly injured 
by IDF gunfire in clashes that erupted after the imposition 
of the curfew. 
 
-- Injuries:  On Friday June 24, a border policeman and at 
lest six demonstrators were lightly wounded during a protest 
of some 200 Palestinians and international activists against 
the West Bank security wall near the village of Bil,in, west 
of Ramallah. 
 
-- Arrests: On Friday night, the IDF arrested at least 14 PIJ 
activists in the Hebron area, including one female militant, 
Arij Bader, on suspicion of affiliation with the PIJ and 
intention of carrying out a suicide attack. 
 
-- Arrests:  On Saturday June 25, IDF forces entered into the 
Allar and other villages in the Tulkarm area, and arrested 7 
PIJ activists. 
 
-- Arrests:  Amidst several gun battles, PA security 
officials arrested 18 men in connection with the Jenin 
shooting death of a PA police officer in an attack on a 
police station on June 23, but the primary suspect, Sa,ad 
al-Amin, remained at large. 
 
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Gaza 
---- 
 
3.  (SBU) ATTACKS: 
 
-- Deaths: Nil. 
 
-- Riots/Injuries: Israeli media and the IDF reported that 10 
Israeli settlers, one Israeli policeman, four Israeli Border 
Police officers and five IDF soldiers were lightly injured 
June 26 after dozens of settlers entered a closed military 
zone in al-Mowassi, as the IDF was demolishing 11 vacant 
structures there.  The IDF undertook the demolition in order 
to prevent the use of the &illegal outpost8 by extremist 
settlers, according to a statement released by the IDF 
spokesman,s office.  UNRWA reported that some 500 settlers 
took part, and Israeli media reported that the settlers took 
over and damaged a bulldozer and several IDF vehicles, before 
the settlers withdrew to the area around the Beach Hotel. 
Israeli media reported that on June 27 that settlers had 
returned to the area and were camped in the rubble of the 
demolished buildings. 
 
-- Injury: UNRWA reported that four Palestinians, two of them 
children age 11 and 12, were injured in the al-Attatra area 
of the Rafah refugee camp June 26 when an explosive device 
they were handling went off.  The two men were critically 
injured; the children sustained light injuries, according to 
UNRWA. 
 
-- Mortars/Rockets: The IDF reported that Palestinian 
militants fired a total of seven mortar shells and two 
anti-tank missiles at IDF and Israeli settler targets in the 
Gaza Strip June 25-27.  Militants fired a Qassam rocket at 
Kibbutz Nir Am June 26.  No injuries were reported in any of 
thee attacks. 
 
-- Shootings: The IDF reported that Palestinian militants 
launched a total of eight shooting attacks at IDF and Israeli 
settler targets in the Gaza Strip June 25-27. 
 
-- Explosions: The IDF reported that Palestinian police found 
and safely disposed of an IED approximately two kilometers 
northeast of Kissufim Crossing June 26.  IDF soldiers found 
and deactivated a second IED in the same area later the same 
day. 
4.  (SBU) BORDER CROSSINGS: 
 
-- Route Four (Salahadeen Road), the main north-south traffic 
artery, was open June 25-27, with a major detour at Netzarim 
Junction. 
-- Erez Crossing was open June 24-26, and 2,547 laborers and 
210 merchants crossed into Israel June 24; 225 laborers and 
47 merchants crossed June 25; and 5,730 laborers crossed and 
450 merchants crossed into Israel June 16. 
 
-- The Erez Industrial Zone remained closed June 24-25.  It 
re-opened June 26, and 550 laborers entered. 
 
-- Sufa Crossing was closed June 25.  On June 26-27, Sufa was 
closed for Palestinian laborers, but was open for the import 
of aggregates used in construction. 
 
-- Karni Terminal was open June 25-27. 
 
-- The PA Ministry for Civil Affairs closed Rafah Terminal 
for arrivals June 25, in order to facilitate the crossing of 
the backlog of hundreds of Palestinians waiting on the 
Egyptian side.  On June 26-27, Rafah was open for both 
arrivals and departures. 
 
-- Tel al-Sultan checkpoint was closed June 22.  Toufah 
checkpoint was open for residents of al-Mowassi, except males 
aged 16-30 
PEARCE