Jaffa Road bus bombings#First bombing
{{Short description|1996 terrorist attack in Israel}}
{{Distinguish|Jaffa Street bombing}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
| title = Jaffa Road bus bombings
| image = HAMAS suicide bombing in Jerusalem on 25 February (DoS Publication 10321).png
| caption = Aftermath of the February 25 attack
| map = {{location map|Israel jerusalem|caption=|float=center}}
|map_caption=The attack site
| image_size =
| location = Jerusalem
| target =
| date = {{start date and age|1996|2|25}}
| coordinates = {{coord|31|47|20|N|35|12|20|E|display=inline,title}}
| time-begin =
| time-end =
| timezone =
| type = Suicide bomber
| fatalities = 27 in total
- 17 Israeli civilians
- 9 Israeli soldiers
- 1 Palestinian terrorist
| injuries = 48 (mostly civilians)
| perps = Assailant, trained, armed, and supported by Iran.{{cite book|last1=Kelly|first1=Michael|title=Bus on Jaffa Road: A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice|date=2014|publisher=Lyons Press|pages=164–179}} Hamas claimed responsibility.
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
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,[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Suicide%20and%20Other%20Bombing%20Attacks%20in%20Israel%20Since Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles (Sept 1993)]. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs which were masterminded by Mohammed Deif, using explosives prepared by Adnan Awul.[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/10/Terrorists%20Recently%20Released%20by%20the%20Palestinian%20Au Terrorists Recently Released by the Palestinian Authority – 12-Oct-2000]. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
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".{{cite news|last1=Kirkus|title=The Bus on Jaffa Road; A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mike-kelly/the-bus-on-jaffa-road/|accessdate=29 October 2014|publisher=Kirkus Reviews|date=7 October 2014}}
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.{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=John |title=Bombings in Israel: Victims; 2 Students Found Faith, Love and Death |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/26/world/bombings-in-israel-victims-2-students-found-faith-love-and-death.html |access-date=6 August 2024|work=The New York Times |date=February 26, 1996}}{{cite news |last1=MacFarquhar |first1=Neil |title=Recalling a Life Ended With a Bus Bombing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/28/nyregion/recalling-a-life-ended-with-a-bus-bombing.html|access-date=7 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=February 8, 1996}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Pristin |first1=Terry |title=Student Killed in Blast in Israel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/26/nyregion/new-jersey-daily-briefing-student-killed-in-blast-in-israel.html|access-date=6 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=February 26, 1996}}
According to Kelly, Yassir Arafat was aware of these planned bombings.{{cite news|last1=Leichman|first1=Abigail Klein|title=A Search for Justice|url=http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Book-Review-A-search-for-justice-378292|accessdate=29 October 2014|publisher=Jerusalem Post|date=7 October 2014}}
=Attack planner=
Hamas operative Hassan Salameh was captured by Israel in Hebron in May 1996.{{cite news|last1=Inquirer|title=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|url=http://articles.philly.com/1996-05-19/news/25624331_1_hassan-salameh-israel-arrests-israeli-troops|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112053835/http://articles.philly.com/1996-05-19/news/25624331_1_hassan-salameh-israel-arrests-israeli-troops|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 12, 2014|accessdate=29 October 2014|agency=INQUIRER WIRE SERVICES|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=19 May 1996}} Israel, which has only twice imposed a death penalty, sentenced Salameh to 46 consecutive life sentences for directing 3 mass-casualty attacks.{{cite news|last1=TribuneNews|title=Israel Gives Islamic Radical 46 Life Sentences In Bombings|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/07/08/israel-gives-islamic-radical-46-life-sentences-in-bombings/|agency=Tribune News Services|website=Chicago Tribune|date=8 July 1997}} 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,{{cite news|last1=LoLordo|first1=Ann|title=Hamas' deadly defender Accused terrorist is a pariah to Israel, hero to Palestinians|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/03/31/hamas-deadly-defender-accused-terrorist-is-a-pariah-to-israel-hero-to-palestinians/|access-date=29 October 2014|agency=Sun Foreign Staff|website=The Baltimore Sun|date=31 March 1997}} and in an interview almost 2 decades later. According to Mike Kelly, Salameh was trained in Iran.
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.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
| title = Jaffa Road bus bombing
(March 3, 1996)
| image = Jaffa Road bus bombings (1996) 2.jpg
| caption = The attack aftermath
| location = Jerusalem
| target =
| date = {{start date and age|1996|3|3}}
| time-begin =
| time-end =
| timezone =
| type = Suicide bomber
| fatalities =
20 in total
- 16 Israeli civilians
- 3 Israeli soldiers
- 1 attacker
| injuries = 7 civilians
| perps =
| perpetrator = Hamas claimed responsibility.
| assailant = Mohammed AbdoKatz, 279{{incomplete reference|date=December 2024}}
| numpart = 1
}}
Aftermath
Israel arrested Hamas militant Mohammed Abu Warda in 2002 for helping to organize the series of suicide bombings that killed more than 40 people and wounded more than 100 others. He was sentenced to 48 life sentences, one of the longest sentences ever imposed. According to Palestinian authorities, at the time of his arrest Warda had been recruiting suicide bombers, including students at Ramallah Teachers College, who conducted attacks targeting civilian crowds during the Second Intifada. Warda was released in 2025 as part of the 2025 Gaza war ceasefire.{{cite news |title=Who are the Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli hostages? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/30/palestinian-prisoners-exchange-gaza-ceasefire/67dabd5e-df21-11ef-8889-d5c3924edafd_story.html |access-date=5 February 2025 |work=Associated Press |date=2025-01-30}}
After learning that the mastermind of the February 25 bombing was a Hamas militant trained and recruited by Iran, the Eisenfeld and Duker families sued Iran and won a $327 million judgment in 2000, including $300 million in punitive damages and $27 million in compensatory damages.{{cite news |title=Suing Iran over Bombing, Families Hope to Strike Blow Against Terror |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/suing-iran-over-bombing-families-hope-to-strike-blow-against-terror |access-date=5 February 2025 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2006-03-17}} The Clinton Administration then blocked the families' efforts to seize certain Iranian assets in the United States. As of 2006 collection efforts continue through legal processes. 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. In 2006 an Italian court domesticated the US court ruling, and temporarily froze Iranian assets. The plaintiffs have stated that they intend to pursue Iran through other European Union courts.{{cite news |last1=Horovitz |first1=David |title=Vicky and Leonard take on Iran |url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Vicki-and-Leonard-take-on-Iran |accessdate=21 December 2018 |agency=The Jerusalem Post |date=28 April 2006}}
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.{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Mike |title=Was a Hamas terrorist paid blood money after killing a Teaneck woman? Congress wants to know |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/mike-kelly/2020/09/23/did-hamas-terrorist-take-u-s-money-after-killing-teaneck-woman/3503814001/ |access-date=7 August 2024 |date=September 23, 2020 |ref=northjersey.com}}
Gallery
Jaffa Road bus 18 bombings memorial plaque (25.2.1996).jpg|Commemorative plaque for the victims of the first bus bombing
Bus bombing memorial.jpg|Commemorative plaque for those who were killed in the second bombing
See also
References
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
- [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Fatal%20Terrorist%20Attacks%20in%20Israel%20Since%20the%20DOP%20-S Fatal Terrorist Attacks in Israel Since the DOP (Sept 1993)]
- She Did it Because She Believed [https://lilith.org/articles/she-did-it-because-she-believed/ Lilith magazine, December 5, 1996]
- Remembering Matt and Sara [https://www.jewishledger.com/2021/02/remembering-matt-and-sara/ (February 22, 2021)]
- Remembering Matt and Sara 20 years later [https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/community/circle_of_life/remembering-matt-and-sara-20-years-later/article_899c877e-d418-11e5-a28f-47704d5b5322.html/ (February 16, 2016)]
{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 1990s}}
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1990s}}
{{Israeli-Palestinian Conflict}}
Category:Suicide bombings in 1996
Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 1996
Category:February 1996 in Asia
Category:Hamas suicide bombings of buses
Category:People convicted on terrorism charges
Category:Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 1990s
Category:20th-century mass murder in Jerusalem
Category:Suicide bombings in Jerusalem
Category:Bus bombings in Israel