VZCZCXRO3129
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0744/01 1221415
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 011415Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1354
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000744 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2018 
TAGS: KWBG PINS IS PGOV PTER
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN PLANS FOR EARLY MAY SECURITY 
DEPLOYMENT/OPERATIONS IN JENIN 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 733 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  According to PA National Security Forces 
(NSF) commander MG Thiab Mustafa Ali (Abu al-Fatah) and Joint 
Security Committee (JSC) chief BG Samir Makhzumi Qaysi, the 
PA has completed logistical preparations for a 400-man 
deployment to Jenin and plans to start security operations in 
Jenin shortly if the IDF consents.  MG Ali said the operation 
intends to clear armed men off the streets, crack down on 
criminal gangs, implement arrest warrants and generally 
improve law and order.  BG Makhzumi said the IDF has 
supported PA plans in recent meetings, but the two sides have 
not agreed on a deployment date (the PA wants May 2 and the 
IDF May 3) and have not discussed operational restrictions. 
He said the PA wants minimal GOI interference and no IDF 
incursions where the PASF operate.  West Bank PIJ spokesmen 
told the press that PIJ will not oppose the PA security 
campaign if the PA refrains from arresting or disarming its 
militants, while Gaza-based PIJ leaders attacked PM Fayyad's 
statement that the PA will enforce "one authority, one gun." 
End summary. 
 
NSF Commander Details Deployment Prep, 
Key Goals of Jenin Operation 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) In multiple phonecalls April 28-May 1 with POL FSN 
and PolOff, NSF Commander MG Thiab Ali said the PA has 
completed logistical preparations for a 400-man deployment to 
Jenin (3 companies of roughly 100 men each from the NSF and 
one from the PG, all armed with Kaleshnikov rifles).  MG Ali 
said the IDF approved the deployment roster.  He wants to 
bring them from Jericho to Jenin May 2, while the IDF prefers 
May 3 (Shabbat) to minimize settler presence on the roads 
that the PA will use to transport them.  Security operations, 
he said, must begin by May 7 (before Israel's Independence 
Day).  Ali said he expects additional 100-plus police 
reinforcements from Jenin's present force to augment NSF 
patrols and checkpoints, which he will discuss with Police 
Chief MG Hazim Attallah.  He said another 100 NSF and 200 PG 
will be in reserve outside Jenin. 
 
¶3.  (C) MG Ali said the Jenin operation's timing and 
objectives are unrelated to future deployment of the NSF 
battalion training in Jordan.  PM Fayyad confirmed the 
general outlines of the Jenin security plan in a conversation 
with the Consul General on April 29 and said a decision on 
deployment of the NSF battalion in Jordan would be deferred. 
 
¶4.  (S) MG Ali said the Jenin NSF commander, Sulayman Imran, 
will have tactical control over all PASF who are taking part 
in the operation in the Jenin Governorate.  Preventive 
Security (PSO) and General Intelligence (GI) officers will 
accompany NSF units on all arrest missions and reconnaissance 
patrols.  He said the operation's goals are similar to those 
of the Nablus campaign: a) clear armed men off the streets 
and arrest those who publicly carry or fire weapons; b) crack 
down on criminal gangs, protection rackets and vehicle theft 
rings; c) carry out arrest warrants for wanted militants and 
violent criminals; and d) generally improve law and order and 
respect for the PA and PASF.  PM Salam Fayyad told the Consul 
General April 29 that the PA will focus security efforts on 
Jenin Refugee Camp and Qabatiya, strongholds of the al-Aqsa 
Brigades and PIJ respectively.  Fayyad also said prominent 
al-Aqsa militant Zakariya Zubaydah had told him during a 
recent visit to Jenin that he is no longer involved in 
militant activity. 
 
NSF: PM Fayyad Provides Support, 
Logistics Prep Completed 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) MG Ali said PM Fayyad instructed the Finance Ministry 
to provide an open fund cite for all reasonable deployment 
expenses, which has paid for modular housing to billet the 
NSF and food service and vehicle fuel contracts.  MG Ali said 
logistical preparations are complete and have not delayed 
deployment plans, in contrast to preparations for the Nablus 
operation.  He said the NSF will bring in 20 Mitsubishi 
pickups and jeeps, with the police and PG expected to deploy 
with 10 new vehicles each.  The NSF does not plan to bring 
body armor or ballistic helmets, Ali said, given anticipated 
GOI objections. 
 
PA: IDF Conceptually Supports Deployment; 
We Want Full Operational Freedom in Jenin 
----------------------------------------- 
 
JERUSALEM 00000744  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C) BG Makhzumi Qaysi said the IDF has supported PA 
deployment plans in recent meetings (reftel), but the two 
sides have not agreed on a specific deployment date and have 
not discussed restrictions on PA operations in Jenin.  He 
said the PA understands Israeli security needs but wants 
minimal GOI interference with PA plans and no IDF incursions 
where the PASF are operating.  He said IDF and PASF 
commanders and Civil Administration will meet shortly to 
complete deployment discussions. 
 
PIJ Will Not Oppose Operation 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) West Bank PIJ Spokesmen announced April 29 that PIJ 
will not oppose the PA security campaign in Jenin.  He told 
local press that this assurance is "conditioned on the PA 
refraining from pursuit, arrest or disarming of activists 
from PIJ or any of the resistance factions."  Jenin PIJ 
leader Abd al-Fattah Khzaymah told local press that PIJ will 
cooperate and support PA security efforts but rejects any 
attempt to disarm PIJ militants.  Gaza-based PIJ outlets, 
however, issued statements condemning PM Fayyad for saying 
that "the PA will continue with its security efforts allowing 
only one legal gun (the PASF)."  Gaza-based PIJ leader Nafiz 
Azzam told Gaza press that "the resistance weapon in 
legitimate because it defends the Palestinian people against 
ongoing Israeli aggression." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Although the PA has debated internally whether to 
conduct its next major security operation in Jenin, PASF 
commanders are better prepared for an operation now than they 
were prior to the November Nablus campaign, which involved ad 
hoc, late and uncoordinated preparations for everything from 
troop living space to detention plans.  Jenin NSF commander 
Sulayman Imran has a reputation as a fighter unafraid to 
carry out arrest orders (and is more respected than Nablus' 
weak NSF chief Khayri Hassan).  He also works well with his 
boss MG Thiab Ali.  We will continue to urge the PA to avoid 
any special arrangements with PIJ, the al-Aqsa Brigades and 
other militant groups, and to strictly enforce the "one gun" 
policy.  We will also encourage stronger police integration 
in NSF-led operations. 
WALLES