Palestinian suicide attacks using bombs were carried out on two No. 18 buses on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem, in 1996. Hamas suicide bombers killed 45 people in the attacks,[2] which were masterminded by Mohammed Deif, using explosives prepared by Adnan Awul.[3] These two bombings, within a few days of each other, occurred during a Hamas offensive launched after the killing of Yahya Ayyash, which also included the French Hill neighborhood attack, a suicide bombing in Ashkelon, and a terrorist attack near Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv.
| Jaffa Road bus bombings | |
|---|---|
.png) Aftermath of the February 25 attack. | |
  The attack site | |
| Location | Jerusalem |
| Coordinates | 31°47′20″N 35°12′20″E / 31.78889°N 35.20556°E |
| Date | February 25, 1996 |
Attack type | Suicide bomber |
| Deaths | 27 in total
|
| Injured | 48 mostly civilians |
| Perpetrators | Assailant, trained, armed, and supported by Iran.[1] Hamas claimed responsibility. |
First bombing
editOn the morning of February 25, 1996, a suicide bomber blew himself up on a No.18 bus traveling down Jaffa Road near the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. 17 civilians and 9 Israeli soldiers were killed and 48, mostly civilians, injured.
In 2014 journalist Mike Kelly published The Bus on Jaffa Road; A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice. Kirkus Reviews praised it as, "a spiral of horror and reckoning".[4]
Sarah Duker, 23, who was studying science at Hebrew University, and her boyfriend, Matthew Eisenfeld, 25, a seminary student from West Hartford, Conn., were killed in the attack. The two were described as sympathetic to the peace process and committed to Mideast peace.[5][6] Ms. Duker was the second New Jersey woman to lose her life in a terrorist attack in less than a year. Alisa Flatow, 20, of West Orange was killed in April by a suicide bomber in the Gaza Strip Kfar Darom bus attack. Both Ms. Flatow and Ms. Duker attended the same high school in Paramus.[7]
According to Kelly, Yassir Arafat was aware of these planned bombings.[8]
Attack planner
editHamas operative Hassan Salameh was captured by Israel in Hebron in May, 1996.[9] Israel, which has only once imposed a death penalty, sentenced Salameh to 46 consecutive life sentences for directing 3 mass-casualty attacks.[10] Salameh,has continued to maintain that he acted in a righteous manner in bombing civilian buses, saying, "I believe what I did is a legitimate right my religion and all of the world gave me..." in 1997,[11] and in an interview almost 2 decades later.[8] According to Mike Kelly, Salameh was trained in Iran.[8]
Second bombing
editOn the morning of March 3, 1996, a suicide bomber boarded another No. 18 bus, detonating an explosive belt that killed 16 civilians and three Israeli soldiers and wounded 7.
| Jaffa Road bus bombing (March 3, 1996) | |
|---|---|
_2.jpg) The attack aftermath | |
| Location | Jerusalem |
| Date | March 3, 1996 |
Attack type | Suicide bomber |
| Deaths | 20 in total
|
| Injured | 7 civilians |
| Perpetrator | Hamas claimed responsibility. |
| Assailant | Mohammed Abdo[12] |
| Participant | 1 |
Legal action
editThe families of United States victims Matthew Eisenfeld and Sarah Duker sued Iran for backing the attack, and won a US$327 million judgment in 2000.[13] The Clinton Administration then blocked the families' efforts to seize certain Iranian assets in the United States.[13] As of 2006 collection efforts continue through legal processes.[13] The families, together with the family of another United States citizen killed in the same attack, now seek as much as US$900 million from Iran.[13] In 2006 an Italian court domesticated the US court ruling, and temporarily froze Iranian assets.[13] The plaintiffs have stated that they intend to pursue Iran through other European Union courts.[13]
In 2020, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-NJ, introduced a House of Representatives resolution to condemn payments to Hassan Salameh, a high-ranking Hamas leader who orchestrated the plot that killed Duker.[14]
Gallery
edit-
Commemorative plaque for the victims of the first bus bombing -
Commemorative plaque for those who were killed in the second bombing
.jpg)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Kelly, Michael (2014). Bus on Jaffa Road: A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice. Lyons Press. pp. 164–179.
- ^ Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles (Sept 1993). Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- ^ Terrorists Recently Released by the Palestinian Authority – 12-Oct-2000. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- ^ Kirkus (October 7, 2014). "The Bus on Jaffa Road; A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- ^ Sullivan, John (February 26, 1996). "Bombings in Israel: Victims; 2 Students Found Faith, Love and Death". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (February 8, 1996). "Recalling a Life Ended With a Bus Bombing". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Pristin, Terry (February 26, 1996). "Student Killed in Blast in Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c Leichman, Abigail Klein (October 7, 2014). "A Search for Justice". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- ^ Inquirer (May 19, 1996). "Israel Arrests A Hamas Leader Hassan Salameh Was Shot And Wounded In A Chase. He Is Believed To Have Planned Three Of This Year's Bombings". The Philadelphia Inquirer. INQUIRER WIRE SERVICES. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- ^ TribuneNews (July 8, 1997). "Israel Gives Islamic Radical 46 Life Sentences In Bombings". Chicago Tribune. Tribune News Services.
- ^ LoLordo, Ann (March 31, 1997). "Hamas' deadly defender Accused terrorist is a pariah to Israel, hero to Palestinians". The Baltimore Sun. Sun Foreign Staff. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
- ^ Katz, 279
- ^ a b c d e f Horovitz, David (April 28, 2006). "Vicky and Leonard take on Iran". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Mike (September 23, 2020). "Was a Hamas terrorist paid blood money after killing a Teaneck woman? Congress wants to know". Retrieved August 7, 2024.
External links
edit- Fatal Terrorist Attacks in Israel Since the DOP (Sept 1993)
- She Did it Because She Believed Lilith magazine, December 5, 1996
- Remembering Matt and Sara (February 22, 2021)
- Remembering Matt and Sara 20 years later (February 16, 2016)