VZCZCXRO7016
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2309/01 3651155
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 301155Z DEC 08 ZDK
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3611
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 002309 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018 
TAGS:          
SUBJECT: GAZA UPDATE DECEMBER 30, 1300 LOCAL: 2 ISRAELIS, 
AT LEAST 12 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN CONTINUING VIOLENCE 
 
JERUSALEM 00002309  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 () and (d) 
 
 1.  (SBU) Summary.  From 1800 local o December 29 to 1300 on 
December 30, rockets kiled two Israelis and injured at least 
nine others and Israeli airstrikes killed at least 16 more 
alestinians.  Palestinian medical, UN and NGO staffreport 
at least 358 Palestinian deaths and 1070 njuries requiring 
hospital treatment since Decemer 27.  West Bank protests and 
Israeli incursion continue.  Hamas rejected offers by 
President Mhmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and PLO officials to meet 
o discuss the situation in Gaza.  End summary. 
 
ong-Range Rockets and Mortar Attacks Kill 
Two Isaelis; Airstrikes Kill 16 More Gazans 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 2.  (SBU) A brrage of five Grad-type rockets struck Ashdod 
andYavneh late December 29, killing one Israeli womanin 
Ashdod and injuring four others, according topress.  Five 
more rockes hit Ashkelon, causing minor property damage but 
no injuries.  A combined Qassam/mortar attack on he Nahal Oz 
IDF base killed an IDF soldier and ijured five others, 
according to Israeli press.  t least 40 additional Qassam 
rockets were fired fom Gaza as of 1300 local, according to 
Gaza-base contacts, most striking near kibbutzim on Gaza's 
perimeter and in/around Sderot, injuring two Isralis and 
damaging several buildings.  Militants fred a total of 91 
rockets and 10 mortars at Israe on December 29. 
 
 3.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources ad press report that at 1715 on 
December 29, IAF irstrikes destroyed a home of Hamas 
military-win leader Mahir Zaqut in Bayt Lahiya, killing 
seve members of his family, but not Zaqut, who was not t 
home.  Five other Palestinians were killed when the IAF 
struck a house in Bayt Hanun suspected of belonging to a 
senior Hamas military-wing leader.  At 1720, IAF fire killed 
a civil defense guard at an installation near an UNRWA school 
in al-Qarara.  At around 1840, at least three Palestinians 
were killed and nine injured when IAF rockets struck the 
house of Hamas military-wing activist Ayman Siyam in 
Jabaliya.  According to Gaza-based contacts, an Israeli 
airstrike killed two young girls at 0930 on December 30 who 
were walking near a donkey cart in Bayt Hanun.  IAF 
airstrikes also caused heavy damage to the Hamas "Interior 
Ministry," "Foreign Ministry" and "Prime Minister's Office" 
in Gaza City early December 30.  Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV carried 
purported footage of top Hamas military-wing leaders Ahmad 
al-Ja'bari and Ahmad Ghandur meeting with Hamas fighters in 
Gaza and inspecting rocket launchers on December 29. 
 
 4.  (C) Gaza PLC member Rawiya al-Shawwa told PolOff that 
several Israeli tanks and armored infantry carriers were 
visible December 29-30 opposite the perimeter fence at 
Shuja'iya and near the Karni/al-Mintar crossing.  She said 
they frequently move along the IDF patrol road there and in 
open areas on the perimeter south of Jabaliya and Bayt Hanun, 
but residents have not observed significant movement of 
Israeli vehicles into north Gaza as of 1300 local on December 
 30. 
 
West Bank and Jerusalem Unrest Increases 
---------------------------------------- 
 
 5.  (SBU) Clashes erupted late December 29 between 
Palestinian stone throwers and the IDF and border police in 
Husan village near Bethlehem, resulting in seven injuries of 
Palestinian protesters.  Five other Palestinians were injured 
in skirmishes with the IDF and Israeli police near Qalandia 
and Betuniya crossings and around Bethlehem on December 29. 
Press report that an unknown gunman fired shots at Israeli 
border policemen near a checkpoint on the al-Shayya route (on 
the rear southern slope of the Mount of Olives) late December 
 29.  In Kedumim settlement, an unknown attacker stabbed and 
lightly injured an Israeli settler, according to press, and 
police are searching for the assailant.  Palestinians threw 
stones at Israeli buses near Pisgat Ze'ev in East Jerusalem 
and on Rt. 443 northwest of Jerusalem on December 29.  No 
injuries were reported.  In Shu'fat Refugee Camp in East 
Jerusalem, Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police 
over removal of a memorial tent placed to receive condolences 
for those killed in Gaza. 
 
 6.  (SBU) A Presidential Guard (PG) officer, Usama Dwaykat, 
was killed in intra-Palestinian violence in Jab'a village 
near Jenin on December 29 after National Security Forces 
(NSF) and PG soldiers responded to rock-throwing protesters. 
The situation in Jab'a remains tense as of 1300 on December 
 30.  The IDF arrested 11 Palestinians late December 29 in 
incursions near Nablus, Hebron and Ramallah. 
 
JERUSALEM 00002309  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
 7.  (SBU) All students councils at Palestinian universities 
in the West Bank announced suspension of classes for the rest 
of the week to protest Israeli military operations in Gaza. 
 
Political Reactions 
------------------- 
 
 8.  (SBU) At a December 29 PLO Executive Committee (ExComm) 
meeting in Ramallah, PM Salam Fayyad and ExComm 
Secretary-General Yassir Abd Rabbo clashed with PLO faction 
leaders (particularly Khalida Jarrar from the PFLP) for 
calling for an uprising in the West Bank to respond to 
Israeli operations in Gaza.  Fayyad, supported by President 
Abbas, said that the PA government will not tolerate any 
attempts to bring back chaos to the West Bank.  The PLO 
executive committee released a statement following the 
meeting condemning "Israeli aggression against Gaza," and 
calling for the international community to protect the 
Palestinian people.  The statement said that all factions 
must unite "to confront the main challenge of the aggression 
on Gaza." The ExComm praised the Egyptian President and GOE 
for their helpful role in advancing Palestinian interests, 
and offered condolences for the death of an Egyptian border 
police in clashes on the Gaza-Sinai border on December 29. 
 
 9.  (SBU) Hamas and PIJ refused President Abbas' invitation 
to convene a meeting of all factions under the rubric of the 
National and Islamic Forces (NIF) to discuss the situation in 
Gaza, with Hamas insisting that Abbas first release all Hamas 
prisoners. 
 
 10.  (C) Gaza City-based PLO Executive Committee member Riyad 
al-Khudari told PolOff by phone late December 29 that most 
Gazans, even those like himself who oppose Hamas and want 
restoration of PA authority in Gaza, do not believe Israeli 
military operations will weaken Hamas rule.  He said most of 
the airstrikes have hit the outward symbols of Hamas 
authority and killed many police, many of whom are 
politically neutral, but have done little to weaken Hamas 
control. 
WALLES