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{{Short description|2001 nightclub attack by Hamas in Tel Aviv, Israel}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
|title = Dolphinarium suicide bombing
|partof = the [[Second Intifada]]
|image = הפיגוע בדולפינריום 4.jpg
|caption =
|map = {{location map|Tel Aviv#Israel center ta
|lat_deg=32|lat_min=04|lat_sec=03|lat_dir=N
|lon_deg=34|lon_min=45|lon_sec=42|lon_dir=E
|border = infobox|label={{bg|white|{{nowrap|'''The attack site'''}}}}
|caption =
}}
|coordinates = {{coord|32|04|02|N|34|45|42|E|display=inline,title}}
|location = [[Tel Aviv]], Israel
|target =
|date = {{start date and age|2001|6|1}}
|time=23:30 pm
|time-begin=
|time-end=
|timezone=[[UTC+3]]
|type = [[Suicide bombing]]
|fatalities = 21 victims (+ 1 bomber)
|injuries = 100+
|perps = {{plainlist|
* [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Palestinian Islamic Jihad]]
* [[Hamas]]
}}
|assailant = Saeed Hotari
}}
[[File:Inscription_on_the_Dolphinarium_Massacre_memorial.JPG|thumb|right|English inscription on the back of the Dolphinarium massacre memorial]]

On 1 June 2001, a [[Hamas]]-affiliated [[Islamism|Islamist]] terrorist blew himself up outside the Dolphinarium discotheque on the beachfront in [[Tel Aviv]], [[Israel]], killing 21 Israelis, 16 of whom were teenagers.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-48416289.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121023030542/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-48416289.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 23 October 2012 |title=No. 1 Hamas terrorist killed. Followers threaten revenge in Tel Aviv. |last=O'Sullivan |first=Arieh |date=25 November 2001 |publisher=Jerusalem Post |access-date=30 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/international/middleeast/29israel.html |title=In Hamas's Overt Hatred, Many Israelis See Hope |last=Fisher |first=Ian |date=29 January 2006 |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 January 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ynet.co.il/home/0,7340,L-1258,00.html Ynet – פיגוע בדולפינריום – ], ynet.co.il; accessed 2 September 2015.</ref> The majority of the victims were Israeli teenage girls, whose families had [[1990s post-Soviet aliyah|recently immigrated from the former Soviet Union]].

==Attack==
Suicide bomber Saeed Hotari was standing in line on a Friday night in front of the Dolphinarium, when the area was packed with teenagers. Most of the crowd were young people from [[Russian language|Russian]]-speaking families from the former Soviet Union, who were waiting for admission to a dance party at the Dolphin disco, and others were in line to enter the adjacent [[nightclub]].<ref name="jpost-2001"/> Survivors of the attack later described how the young Palestinian bomber appeared to taunt his victims before the explosion, wandering among them dressed in a disguise that led his victims to mistake him for an [[Orthodox Jew]] from Asia. Before detonating his bomb, he banged a drum packed with explosives and ball-bearings, while taunting his victims in Hebrew with the words "Something's going to happen".<ref>Chris McGreal,[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/29/israel 3,000 dead yet peace remains elusive], guardian.co.uk, 29 September 2003.</ref> At 23:27, he detonated his explosive device.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/BaaT7vdSXrI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160309024953/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaaT7vdSXrI Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaaT7vdSXrI#t=120| title = 6 years to Tel-Aviv suicide bombing at the Dolphin disco | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Witnesses claimed that body parts lay all over the area, and that bodies were piled one above another on the sidewalk before being collected. Many civilians in the vicinity of the bombing rushed to assist emergency services.

The suicide bombing followed a failed attack attempt on the same target five months earlier.<ref name="ynet1">{{cite news |url= http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-781748,00.html |title=Bloody Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv – 18 Youth Killed |date=2 June 2001 |access-date=4 May 2008 |publisher=[[Ynet]] |language=he}}</ref>

==Perpetrators==
Both [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Islamic Jihad]] and a group calling itself "Hezbollah-Palestine" originally claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, only to later retract the claims.<ref>[http://info.jpost.com/C001/Supplements/Disco/index.html Bomb horror hits Tel Aviv disco] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516220937/http://info.jpost.com/C001/Supplements/Disco/index.html |date=May 16, 2008 }}, [[The Jerusalem Post]], 4 June 2001.</ref> Later on it was revealed that the attack was carried out by Saeed Hotari, aged 22, a militant allegedly linked to the Palestinian Islamist militant group [[Hamas]].<ref name="theguardian-2001">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jun/04/israel1|title=Bomber went to West Bank for a better life|work=the Guardian|date=June 4, 2001|access-date=14 December 2014}}</ref>

==Official reactions==

Israeli officials called the attack a "massacre".<ref>[[Silvan Shalom|Shalom, Silvan]]. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/QA.jhtml?qaNo=113 "Q&A with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom"], ''[[Haaretz]]'', 8 May 2008.</ref> President of the Palestinian Authority [[Yasser Arafat]] condemned the attack and called for a cease-fire.<ref name="sontag"/> [[UN Secretary-General]] [[Kofi Annan]] stated that he "condemns this indiscriminate terrorist attack in the strongest possible terms." and that the attack "underlines the urgency of breaking the cycle of violence."<ref>[http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/eed216406b50bf6485256ce10072f637/6408a3d95f268ac485256a61004de941?OpenDocument Press Release SG/SM/7829] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609143557/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/eed216406b50bf6485256ce10072f637/6408a3d95f268ac485256a61004de941?OpenDocument |date=June 9, 2012 }}, domino.un.org, 1 June 2001.</ref> The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister and acting Premier [[Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]] stated that he does not support Palestinian suicide bombings against civilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/2001/Pages/Tel-Aviv%20suicide%20bombing%20at%20the%20Dolphin%20disco%20-%201-.aspx|work=MFA|title=Tel-Aviv suicide bombing at the Dolphin disco-1-Jun-2001|date=2 June 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217012552/http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/2001/Pages/Tel-Aviv%20suicide%20bombing%20at%20the%20Dolphin%20disco%20-%201-.aspx|archive-date=December 17, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]] stated that he condemns the attack in the strongest terms and that "There is no justification for senseless attacks against innocent civilians."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2001-06-01/world/bush.israel.bomb_1_suicide-bombing-heinous-terrorist-attack-tel-aviv?_s=PM:WORLD |work=CNN |title=Israeli police: Four dead in Tel Aviv bombing |date=25 February 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010200728/http://articles.cnn.com/2001-06-01/world/bush.israel.bomb_1_suicide-bombing-heinous-terrorist-attack-tel-aviv?_s=PM%3AWORLD |archive-date=October 10, 2012 }}</ref>

==Aftermath==

After the attack many in the Israeli public demanded a harsh military retaliation; nevertheless, Prime Minister [[Ariel Sharon]] decided to not take any immediate retaliatory actions. U.S. and other governments applied heavy diplomatic pressure on Israel to refrain from action.<ref name="sontag">Deborah Sontag, "Arafat Calls for Cease-Fire, Deploring Tel Aviv Attack", ''[[The New York Times]]'', 3 June 2001.</ref> Nevertheless, the attack was later on noted as one of the reasons cited by the Israeli government for building the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]].<ref>Israel Foreign Ministry, ''[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+and+Islamic+Fundamentalism-/Four+Years+of+Conflict+3-Oct-2004.htm Four Years of Conflict: Israel's war against terrorism]'', 3 October 2004, p. 28</ref>

In [[Ramallah]] dozens of Palestinians celebrated in the streets and [[celebratory gunfire|fired in the air]] as a sign of celebration.<ref name="jpost-2001">{{cite web| author=David Rudge| url=http://info.jpost.com/C001/Supplements/Disco| title=Bomb horror hits Tel Aviv disco| date=4 June 2001 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205014534/http://info.jpost.com/C001/Supplements/Disco | archive-date=December 5, 2006 | url-status=dead | work= jpost.com | access-date=3 June 2017 }}</ref> The bomber, Saeed Hotari, was praised as a [[martyr]] by his father.<ref name="theguardian-2001"/> U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] demanded that [[Yasser Arafat]] condemn the terrorist act, which he did.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-782250,00.html|title=Bush to Arafat: You Must Condemn This Terrible Attack|date=2 June 2001|access-date=4 May 2008|publisher=[[Ynet]]|language=he}}</ref> The next day, Israeli-Arabs barricaded themselves in the [[Hassan Bek Mosque]] opposite the Dolphinarium site and threw objects at the police.<ref>[http://9tv.co.il/news/2015/06/01/205483.html 14 лет со дня чудовищного теракта в тель-авивском "Дольфи"] 01.06.2015 22:41, 9tv.co.il</ref>

According to the [[Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center]], an Israeli-based organization with close ties to the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]], among the materials seized by the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] in the course of [[Operation Defensive Shield]] were two documents issued by the Martyrs' Families and Injured Care Establishment, which is under the authority of the [[Palestinian National Authority]]'s Ministry of Social Affairs. The documents detail the transfer of US$2,000 to the father of the suicide bomber, who was living in Jordan at that time (18 June 2001). According to the [[Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center]], the transfer was made despite the suicide bomber's Hamas affiliation, despite the father's public support of the suicide bombing attack, and despite Arafat's public condemnation of the bombing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/html/final/eng/sib/10_04/oct_02.htm|title=The Palestinian Authority's support of Hamas' suicide terrorism|access-date=4 May 2008|date=October 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=22393 |title=The Palestinian Authority's support of Hamas' suicide terrorism |date=10 October 2004 |access-date=24 May 2017 }}</ref>

== Dolphinarium site ==
[[File:DolphinariumNightClub.2012.04.16.jpg|thumb|Abandoned ruins of the Dolphinarium in 2012]]
Opened in 1981, the Dolphinarium was originally a mixed-use entertainment venue with the main attraction being shows of captive dolphins, but the business failed, and was followed by a succession of largely unsuccessful business attempts. By 1993 the city was looking to demolish the structure. After the bombing, the Dolphinarium discotheque was abandoned, covered with [[graffiti]]. It remained on the Tel Aviv beachfront until its demolition in May 2018.<ref name="Lidman">{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/shows-over-for-tel-avivs-dolphinarium-eyesore/|title=Show's over for Tel Aviv's Dolphinarium eyesore|last=Lidman|first=Melanie|date=16 May 2018|access-date=12 September 2018|publisher=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref>

For many years, the victims' families campaigned to permanently preserve the ruined building as a monument to the attack. Eventually, the building was demolished in order to extend the promenade along the coast.<ref>[Decided the fate of Tel Aviv Dolphinarium Решилась судьба тель-авивского дельфинария] 27-12-2014, 01:30, ЛЕОНИД РАБИН</ref> Memorial services to the victims of the attack were held every year at the site by friends and family of the victims.<ref>[http://9tv.co.il/news/2015/06/01/205483.html 14 лет со дня чудовищного теракта в тель-авивском "Дольфи"] 01.06.2015 22:41, 9tv.co.il</ref>

==See also==
* [[Civilian casualties in the Second Intifada]]
* [[Shevah Mofet]] – high school in Tel Aviv where seven of the killed teenagers and many of the injured studied
* [[Israeli casualties of war]]
* [[Palestinian political violence]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Dolphinarium discotheque massacre}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110926045814/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/6/Tel-Aviv%20suicide%20bombing%20at%20the%20Dolphin%20disco%20-%201- Tel-Aviv suicide bombing at the Dolphin disco], Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs; accessed 2 September 2015
* [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9VUeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OsgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1209,169431 At Least 17 Dead In Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing], ''[[Times Daily]]'', 2 June 2001
* [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IXUiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=n6oFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4659,111513 At Least 17 Dead, 86 Wounded In Tel Aviv Beachfront Bombing], ''[[The Item]]'', 2 June 2001
* [http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-782228,00.html Eyewitness accounts from the scene of the massacre], [[Ynet]], 2 June 2001 (Hebrew)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050910225633/http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132166&page=1 Inside the mind of a suicide bomber], [[ABC News]], 6 December 2001
* [https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2001/06/2001-06-26-suicide-usat.htm Devotion, desire drive youths to 'martyrdom'], [[USA Today]]; 26 June 2001
* [http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-899748,00.html Driver of the Dolphinarium attack terrorist – charged with homicide], [[Ynet]], 10 July 10, 2001 (in Hebrew)

{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 2000s}}
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s}}
{{Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}
{{Club fires}}


[[Category:Suicide bombings in 2001]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2001]]
[[Category:Massacres in 2001]]
[[Category:Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada]]
[[Category:Massacres in Israel during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:Hamas suicide bombings]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Tel Aviv]]
[[Category:2000s in Tel Aviv]]
[[Category:Attacks on music venues]]
[[Category:Attacks on nightclubs]]
[[Category:June 2001 events in Asia]]
[[Category:June 2001 crimes]]
[[Category:Murdered Israeli children]]
[[Category:Building bombings in Israel]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorism in Israel]]

Dolphinarium discotheque massacre - Revision history

Delinker at 13:59, 31 July 2023