VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #3252 2121353
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 311353Z JUL 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3829
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 003252 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO, USAID 
FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ASEC CASC KPAL KWBG PHUM
SUBJECT: MGGZ01 - JERUSALEM JULY 31 SITREP 
 
¶1.    (SBU) Post is working with Embassies Tel Aviv and Cairo 
to facilitate the departure of approximately 80 Americans 
from Gaza via the Rafah crossing on August 1.  Palestinian 
Chief Negotiator Sa'eb Erekat confirmed to the Consul General 
on July 31 that he was informed by Government of Israel 
contacts that Rafah would be open for outbound traffic only 
on August 1. 
 
¶2.    (SBU) Three Palestinians succumbed to injuries received 
during the July 26-28 IDF operation into Shijaya and 
surrounding neighborhoods in Gaza City, raising the number of 
Palestinians killed in that incursion to 34.  The IDF 
continued artillery and tank fire at suspected militant 
targets July 29-31, resulting in one Palestinian teenager 
killed in Beit Hanoun July 31 and at least 11 others wounded 
by Israeli shelling as of 1500 L.  Israeli aircraft July 29 
fired rockets at the home of a Hamas member in Gaza City, 
injuring five persons.  The IDF shelled a house and 
warehouses in northern Gaza overnight July 30-31, causing 
damage but no injuries. 
 
¶3.    (SBU) At least 15 Qassam rockets were launched from 
northern Gaza toward Sderot and the Western Negev since July 
28, including 8 rockets fired since the Israeli air-strike on 
Qana in southern Lebanon.  There were light injuries reported 
and some property damage.  The Popular Resistance Committees 
(PRC), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the al-Aqsa 
Martyrs' Brigades have each claimed responsibility for the 
rocket fire. 
 
¶4.    (SBU) In the West Bank, the IDF arrested 11 
Palestinians overnight July 30-31, including two Fatah 
activists during an IDF raid into the Balatah refugee camp in 
Nablus.  The IDF on July 30 entered Qalqilya and arrested 
five Palestinians in connection with the killing last week of 
an Israeli settler.  IDF undercover units operating in Nablus 
on July 29 shot and killed two suspected militants affiliated 
with PIJ and al-Aqsa. 
 
¶5.    (SBU) Thousands of Palestinians have taken to the 
streets in Gaza, Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarm, Jenin, and Hebron 
July 30-31 in response to the Israeli air strike on Qana. 
Demonstrators condemned the Israeli measures and accused the 
U.S. of bias towards Israel, while chanting pro-Hezbollah 
slogans.  Protesters in Gaza attacked the main UN 
headquarters in Gaza City on July 30, destroying computers 
and vehicles, but causing no injuries.  Several militant 
groups, including Hamas, PIJ, and al-Aqsa, threatened to 
carry out attacks against Israeli targets in retaliation. 
 
------------------- 
Humanitarian Update 
------------------- 
 
¶6.    (SBU) The Rafah crossing is closed July 31.  Both the 
Karni/al-Mintar and Nahal Oz crossings are operational July 
¶31.  The Karni/al-Mintar and Nahal Oz crossings were closed 
July 29 but re-opened July 30, according to USAID Gaza-based 
staff.  PalTrade reported that 275 truckloads transited the 
Karni/al-Mintar crossing into Gaza July 30, the first day it 
was in operation since July 25. 
 
¶7.    (SBU) Nine electricity feeder lines from Israel into 
Gaza are operational July 31.  The single feeder line into 
Rafah is not operational. 
 
WALLES