VZCZCXYZ0025
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #1119 0761706
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 171706Z MAR 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0985
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001119 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORN/MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2016 
TAGS: PAL PGOV ASEC IS
SUBJECT: JERICHO RAID: POLITIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR KEY 
PALESTINIAN ACTORS 
 
RE: JERUSALEM 1072 
 
Classified By: Consul General ake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C)SUMMARY: The March 14 Israeli raid on the Jericho 
prison has hurt President Abbas, (Abu Mazen) standng among 
Palestinians and bolstered the perceptin that his 
administration is vacillating and oftn incompetent. 
Criticism from the HAMAS leadershp has been focused on the 
U.S. and U.K., rather han Abu Mazen.  Contacts in the PA 
Security Force (PASF) describe the attack as deeply damaging 
t their morale.  END SUMMARY 
 
Abu Mazen Weakened y IDF Raid 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. C) While Palestinian media coverage has been highl 
critical of the U.S/U.K. decision to withdrawal he monitors, 
by March 16 several Palestinian newpapers had published 
translated portions of the arch 8 U.S./U.K. letter to Abu 
Mazen.  Many Paletinian interlocutors have focused on the 
failureof Abu Mazen,s office to take action following 
noification by the U.S./U.K.  One contact from the PO 
Negotiation Support Unit commented to Poloff dring a March 
16 telcon, &Perhaps it was fortunat for Abu Mazen that he 
had already left for Europe when all this happened, otherwise 
he wouldn,t have had any excuse for doing nothing.8 
 
¶3. (C) Ministry of Interior (MOI) contacts have cited 
disorganization in Abu Mazen,s office as an underlying 
problem, noting that they were not informed following the 
delivery of the March 8 U.S./U.K. letter, a charge also made 
privately by Interior Minister Nasir Yusif (reftel).  In 
addition to criticizing the U.S. and U.K. for the Jericho 
attack, PFLP leader Ahmad Sa,adat wrote in a letter to 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on March 16 that PA &procrastination8 in 
addressing his detention was also to blame. 
 
HAMAS 
----- 
 
¶4. (C) Te HAMAS leadership responded to the Jericho crisis 
with relatively moderate criticism of the U.S. and U.K., but 
has so far refrained from any criticism of Abu Mazen or 
attempts to contrast the movement,s &culture of 
resistance8 with the humiliating image of surrendering PASF. 
 In a March 16 statement to the media, HAMAS PM-designate 
Isma,il Hanniyah condemned the &U.S and U.K. collusion8 in 
the IDF raid on the Jericho prison and denounced the Israeli 
actions as a &serious escalation.8  Notably, he did not 
comment on Abu Mazen,s role or the failure of the PASF to 
resist the IDF as several other leaders have done.   MOI 
contacts have speculated that HAMAS intends to &lay low8 
until the new government is formed. 
 
PASF 
---- 
 
¶5. (C) PASF contacts have focused on the IDF &humiliation8 
of the security forces during the Jericho attack. (NOTE: 
Images of surrendering National Security Forces (NSF) 
officers in their underwear were broadcast in local and 
international media.  END NOTE)  MOI staffer Ithar Abu 
Gharbieh described the Jericho siege as deeply damaging to 
PASF morale, speculating the incident would hurt Abu Mazen,s 
standing among Palestinians and Nasir Yusif,s position among 
rival security chiefs because of the perception that &They 
have failed to protect our dignity.8  In regard to respect 
for the PASF within Palestinian society, one Palestinian 
observer quipped, &How are they going to hand out speeding 
tickets when everyone knows the color of their underwear?8 
 
 
¶6. (C) The IDF's arrest of militants under detention in a NSF 
controlled facility may also undermine PASF influence over 
militant factions.  Abu Gharbieh told Poloff during a March 
15 telcon that MOI officials have been focused on quelling 
rumors that the PASF knew in advance of the attack on the 
compound and had concentrated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and 
Palestinian Islamic Jihad detainees in Jericho so the IDF 
could seize them in one place.  Abu Gharbieh stated that 
officials at the MOI expect efforts to control militants by 
integrating them into the PASF will be more difficult. 
Likewise, the PA now lacks a secure facility in the West Bank 
for detaining criminals or militants. 
 
WALLES