VZCZCXRO1808
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0791/01 1331254
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121254Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1469
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000791 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PINS IS PGOV PTER
SUBJECT: JENIN: PA ARRESTS PIJ MILITANT AND CRIMINALS, IDF 
MAKES MULTIPLE INCURSIONS 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 777 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 764 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  PA security forces (PASF) conducted 
patrols in Jenin and 32 nearby villages May 10-12, arresting 
a senior leader of the PIJ military wing and 11 wanted 
criminals.  According to PA security commanders, the IDF 
entered Jenin and nearby Area A towns late May 11/early May 
12, unsuccessfully targeting PIJ militants.  A Jenin PIJ 
spokesman condemned PA security efforts as "complementing the 
Israel occupation's role in arresting and assassinating 
Palestinian resistance fighters."  PM Salam Fayyad visited 
Jenin and Qabatiya May 11 and urged PA forces to continue 
efforts to improve law and order.  End summary. 
 
PA Steps Up Patrols/Raids 
in Jenin and Nearby Villages 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In May 12 phone calls with PolOff and PolFSN, PA 
security forces (PASF) commanders reported company-size 
(about 100 men) patrols underway as of 1300 local on May 12 
in villages west of Jenin near the separation barrier (Kfrayt 
and al-Tarim in Area A, Khuljan, Khirbit Mas'ud, Zabda, Umm 
Dar and Tura al-Gharbiya in Area B, and Tura al-Sharqiya and 
Dahir al-Abd in Area C), with previous IDF clearance.  At 
1000 local, PASF patrols entered Yabad (Area B, west of Jenin 
near Mevo Dotan checkpoint).  They were welcomed by villagers 
with roses and rice and given Fatah pamphlets pledging 
support for PA security efforts.  Late May 11 and early May 
12, PASF patrolled through villages southwest of Jenin 
(Fahmah, Kufr Ra'i and al-Zawiya in Area A, Arrabah and Ajjah 
split between A/B Areas, and al-Mansura off Hwy 60 in Area C). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) PASF officers report sending three separate, 
company-size elements on patrols May 10-11, the first to 
villages in the extreme north/northeast edges of the West 
Bank (Faqqu'a, 'Arrana, Arubanah and al-Jalamah, all Area B), 
the second to towns/villages northwest/west of Jenin 
(al-Yamun, Kufr Dan, al-Hashmiyah, Kufr Qud in Area A, and 
Zububa, Tinak, al-Taybah, Rumanah, and 'Anin in Area B), and 
the third to the Mislah, Qabatiya and Aqqabah areas south of 
Jenin.  Police and National Security Forces (NSF) contacts 
report seizing 95 stolen cars and motorbikes and having these 
disassembled for parts or crushed.  Security contacts seizing 
illegally-excavated archaeological materials in Faqqu'a and 
10 boxes of 5.56mm (M-16) ammunition in Aqqabah, and arrests 
of 11 wanted criminals in the greater Jenin area. 
 
PA Arrests Senior PIJ Militant; 
PIJ Spokesman Criticizes PA Operations 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Security contacts report that a Preventive Security 
(PSO) and Presidential Guard (PG) element arrested senior 
al-Quds Brigades (PIJ military wing) leader Salih Abu Zayyad 
in Jenin on May 11.  Jenin PIJ spokesman Abd al-Fattah 
Khzaymih told local press that PASF are "complementing the 
Israel occupation's role in arresting and assassinating 
Palestinian resistance fighters."  He said PASF have 
threatened to arrest him if he does not turn himself in, but 
he will not comply, and warned that "PIJ will never lay down 
the legitimate weapons of the resistance, even if dozens of 
its cadres are arrested or assassinated."  (Note: Khzaymih's 
rhetoric has undergone a major shift since May 7, when he 
said PIJ welcomes PA security efforts.  End note). 
 
Fayyad Tours Jenin, Lauds 
PASF Law and Order Efforts 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) PM Fayyad visited Jenin, Jenin Refugee Camp and 
Qabatiya May 11 and said there has been considerable progress 
in implementing the PA's security plan and establishing law 
and order.  Meeting with security chiefs and local leaders, 
Fayyad commended PASF for initial successes and urged them to 
continue efforts to improve security and the rule of law, 
which he said will move Palestinians closer to ending the 
occupation and establishing a state.  He said the PA Cabinet 
will soon approve almost 200 development projects for areas 
affected by the separation barrier. 
 
PA Complains of "Frustrating" IDF 
Incursions that Disrupt PASF Efforts 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) West Bank NSF commander MG Thiab Ali (Abu al-Fatah) 
 
JERUSALEM 00000791  002 OF 002 
 
 
and Jenin NSF commander BG Sulayman Imran report multiple IDF 
incursions into central Jenin, Jenin Refugee Camp, and the 
Area A villages Burqin and al-Yamun (west of Jenin) late May 
11/early May 12.  They said the incursions are frustrating 
and often target the same militant cells that the PA is 
attempting to disrupt and arrest.  PM Fayyad made similar 
points in a conversation with the Consul General on May 12. 
MG Ali said the PA will continue their security campaign 
regardless of IDF interference, but Israeli involvement 
provides ammunition for Hamas and PIJ to malign the PASF. 
Police Chief Hazim Attallah told PolOff May 12 that there has 
generally been less GOI interference in Jenin than in last 
year's Nablus operation and the PA will work without excuses 
to make its security campaign a success.  Press report that 
the IDF ransacked the homes of three PIJ militants and left 
warnings with the militants' families, but departed Jenin 
without making arrests. 
WALLES