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The Jaffa Road bus bombings were terrorist attacks on two No. 18 buses in Jerusalem, in 1996. Hamas suicide bombers killed 45 people in the attacks,[1] which were masterminded by Mohammed Deif, using explosives prepared by Adnan Awul.[2] 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.
First bombing
On 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".[3]
According to Kelly, Yassir Arafat was aware of these planned bombings.[4]
Attack planner
Hamas operative Hassan Salameh was captured by Israel in Hebron in May, 1996.[5] Israel, which has only once imposed a death penalty, sentenced Salameh to 46 consecutive life sentences for directing 3 mass-casualty attacks.[6] Salameh, a devout Muslim, 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,[7] and in an interview almost 2 decades later.[4] According to Mike Kelly, Salameh was trained in Iran.[4]
Second bombing
On 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.Template:Infobox terrorist attack
Legal action
The 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.[8] The Clinton Administration then blocked the families' efforts to seize certain Iranian assets in the United States.[8] As of 2006 collection efforts continue through legal process.[8] 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.[8] In 2006 an Italian court domesticated the US court ruling, and temporarily froze Iranian assets.[8] The plaintiffs have stated that they intend to pursue Iran through other European Union courts.[8]
See also
References
- ↑ 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
- ↑ The Bus on Jaffa Road; A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice(7 October 2014).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 A Search for Justice(7 October 2014).
- ↑ 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(19 May 1996).
- ↑ Israel Gives Islamic Radical 46 Life Sentences In Bombings. Chicago Tribune(8 July 1997).
- ↑ Hamas' deadly defender Accused terrorist is a pariah to Israel, hero to Palestinians. The Baltimore Sun(31 March 1997).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Vicky and Leonard take on Iran(28 April 2006).
External links
Template:Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 1990s Template:Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1990s Template:Israeli-Palestinian Conflict