This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 001662 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NEA FOR BURNS/SATTERFIELD 
NEA/SA/EX FOR AUSTIN-FERGUSON; DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA; 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/ITA; DRL FOR A/S CRANER; 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DANIN; 
USAID FOR DCHA, DCHA/FPP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PTER ASEC PHUM CASC KPAL IS GZ
SUBJECT: THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND MARCH 17, 2004 -- 
(1500 HOURS LOCAL) -- IDF INCURSIONS AND INTRA-PALESTINIAN 
FIREFIGHT CLAIM SEVEN LIVES. 
 
THIS IS A JOINT MESSAGE FROM EMBASSY TEL AVIV AND CONGEN 
JERUSALEM. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU) IDF helicopter gunships fired missiles on a Gaza 
City building on March 16, killing two members of Islamic 
Jihad and wounding nine Palestinians.  During an ongoing 
operation to locate tunnels in Rafah, the IDF killed four 
Palestinians and injured 12.  In Gaza City, a Palestinian 
policeman was killed and 16 Palestinians were wounded during 
a firefight between Hamas and the Palestinian security 
forces.  In the West Bank, Israeli settlers injured one 
Palestinian during a fight near the Gush Etzion settlement 
bloc and the IDF defused a 12 kilogram bomb on a truck trying 
to cross the Huwara checkpoint.  End Summary. 
 
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West Bank 
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¶2.  (SBU) ATTACKS: 
 
-- Death: Nil. 
 
-- Injury:  Israeli settlers injured one Palestinian on March 
16 during a fight near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south 
of Bethlehem. 
 
-- Bombs Defused:  Israeli troops defused a 12-kilogram bomb 
that they found on a truck attempting to cross the Huwara 
checkpoint, south of Nablus, on March 16. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) SECURITY DEVELOPMENTS/ARRESTS: 
 
-- Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops in the Balata 
refugee camp on March 16, but no injuries were reported. 
 
-- Palestinians protesting against the separation barrier 
clashed with Israeli police and soldiers in Al-Ram and Midya 
on March 16.  Several Palestinians were treated for tear gas 
inhalation. 
 
-- The IDF arrested 11 Palestinians across the West Bank on 
March 16. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) CONFISCATIONS/DEMOLITIONS: 
 
-- Israeli forces demolished a total of three homes in 
Silwad, Madama, and the Tulkarm refugee camp on March 16. 
Each of the homes belonged to Palestinian militants who are 
currently in Israeli jails. 
 
-- The IDF seized a Palestinian home in the Hizma village, 
just outside East Jerusalem, on March 16 and converted it 
into an observation post. 
 
-- The Jerusalem Municipality demolished a building in the 
Al-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem on March 16 for lack of 
a building permit.  The building contained two apartments. 
 
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GAZA 
---- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) ATTACKS: 
 
-- Deaths:  Gaza City ) Israeli media and UNRWA reported two 
Palestinian members of Islamic Jihad were killed when IDF 
helicopters fired missiles at a house in Gaza City at 1600 
hours March 16.  (See "Incursions" and "Injuries" below.) 
 
-- Deaths:  Rafah -- Israeli media report that a total of 
four Palestinians were killed by IDF forces during an ongoing 
IDF search for tunnels in Rafah March 17.  According to 
Israel Radio, two of these men were involved in planting 
bombs in the area.  (Also see "Injuries," below.) 
 
-- Deaths: Gaza City -- According to media reports, one 
Palestinian policeman died during a firefight between Hamas 
members and the Palestinian security forces the morning of 
March 17.  (Additional details in "Injuries," below.) 
 
-- Injuries:  Gaza City -- According to UNRWA, nine 
Palestinians were injured when the IDF fired on a Gaza City 
house March 16.  (See"Incursions," below.) 
-- Injuries:  Gaza City -- Israel Radio and Ha'aretz reported 
that at least 16 Palestinians were wounded during exchanges 
of gunfire between Hamas activists and Palestinian security 
forces in Gaza City during the morning of March 17. 
According to Ha'aretz, forces under the leadership of PA 
Chairman Arafat's cousin, Moussa Arafat, ordered a carload of 
armed men to stop, but the men opened fire on the security 
forces and a firefight ensued.  Israel Radio reported that 
Kassam missiles were found in the vehicle. 
 
-- Injuries:  Rafah -- Israeli media reported that a total of 
12 Palestinians were injured by IDF fire during the March 17 
IDF search for tunnels in Rafah, noted above. 
 
-- Mortars/Rockets/Hand Grenades:  The IDF reported that 
three mortar shells and three anti-tank rockets were fired at 
IDF soldiers in various locations in the Gaza Strip during 
the reporting period. 
 
--Mortars/Rockets/Hand Grenades:  Catch-up -- The Bank of 
Palestine, in a March 17 letter to the Ambassador, stated 
that on March 15, the Naser branch of the bank suffered 
extensive damage to both building and equipment due to an IDF 
missile attack.  One of the two workshops fired on by the IDF 
March 15 was located in the Naser neighborhood. 
 
-- Shootings:  The IDF reported three shootings at IDF 
soldiers and APCs during the reporting period. 
 
-- Explosions:  Nil. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) ARRESTS:  Nil. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) INCURSIONS/DEMOLITIONS:  At approximately 1800 
hours March 16, IDF helicopter gunships fired missles at the 
Haroubi family home in Gaza City's Nasser neighborhood. 
According to Ha'aretz, two Islamic Jihad operatives, Husseini 
Sarafiti and Nasser Yassin, were killed and nine people were 
injured.  The target of the strike, according to Ha'aretz, 
was Mohammed Haroubi, a senior Islamic Jihad filed operative 
allegedly involved in the attempted terror attack on the Erez 
Crossing March 6. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) BORDER CROSSINGS/CHECKPOINTS 
 
-- Route Four (Salahadeen Road), the main north-south traffic 
artery, was open for Palestinians during the reporting 
period. 
 
-- Erez Crossing was closed.  The Erez Industrial Zone was 
open, with 3661 workers entering the Zone on March 17. 
 
-- Sufa Crossing was open during the reporting period. 
 
-- Karni Terminal was open during the reporting period for 
the import and export of goods into the Gaza Strip. 
 
-- Rafah Terminal was open for Palestinian travelers during 
the reporting period. 
 
-- Tel al-Sultan checkpoint and Toufah checkpoint were closed 
during the reporting period, according to UNRWA. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS: 
 
According to press reports citing Israeli security officials, 
during a March 16 political-security cabinet meeting, Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the IDF and Shin Bet to "act 
without limitations" against top figures from all terror 
organizations.  A senior security official told Israeli 
mass-market daily Yedioth Ahronoth, "Contrary to what 
happened in the IDF's hasty departure from Lebanon, when 
Hizbullah chalked up a victory, we have no intention of 
leaving the Gaza strip with out tail between our legs . . . 
Israel intends to withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip, but 
not before it teaches the terror organizations a lesson that 
won't be forgotten quickly." 
 
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Israel 
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¶10.  (SBU) According to Israeli Media, security forces at 
Ashdod Port closed down a section of the port on the morning 
of March 17, after hand grenades and other weapons were found 
in a bag hidden in the false bottom of a container.  The 
container was believed to have passed through the Karni 
Crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to Ha'aretz. 
 
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KURTZER