Patt Junction bus bombing
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Short description|2002 suicide bombing in Jerusalem}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
| title = Patt junction bus bombing
| partof = the Second Intifada militancy campaign
| map = {{Location map|Israel jerusalem|lat_deg=31|lat_min=45|lon_deg=35|lon_min=11|lon_sec=54|caption=The attack site}}
| native_name = הפיגוע בקו 32א
| image = לוח זיכרון קו 32 צומת פת גילה ירושלים.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Memorial for the attack victims
| location = Jerusalem
| date = {{start date and age |2002|06|18}}
| native_name_lang = heb
| coordinates = {{Coord|31|45|00|N|35|11|54|E|type:event_region:IL|display=inline,title}}
| time = {{circa}}7:50 am
| time-begin =
| time-end =
| timezone = UTC+2
| type = Suicide bombing
| weapon = Suicide vest
| fatalities = 19 civilians (+1 bomber)
| injuries = 74+ civilians
| perps =
| perpetrator = {{flag|Hamas}} claimed responsibility
| numparts =
| numpart = 1
}}
A Palestinian suicide bombing on an Egged bus was carried out by Hamas in Jerusalem on June 18, 2002, killing 20 people (including the bomber) and wounding over 74. 17 of the dead were residents of Gilo.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/20/world/mideast-turmoil-the-mood-in-jerusalem-despair-and-determination.html|title=MIDEAST TURMOIL: THE MOOD; In Jerusalem, Despair and Determination|newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 June 2002|access-date=14 December 2014|last1=Fisher|first1=Ian}}
The attack
On the morning of June 18, 2002, at 7:50 am, a Palestinian suicide bomber from Bethlehem got onto the Egged line 32A bus, which came from the Gilo neighborhood and stopped at Beit Safafa, an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/arts/design/16arch.html?pagewanted=all New York times New architecture in Beit Safafa] The bomber boarded the bus and exploded himself in the front. His explosive belt included metal balls for shrapnel in order to maximize casualties.[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/6/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20Patt%20junction%20in%20Jerusalem%20-%2018 Patt Junction terror attack]
The perpetrators
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. The suicide bomber was identified as Muhammad al-Ghoul, a 22-year-old student at An-Najah National University in Nablus. He strapped explosives packed with nails to his body and boarded the bus during the morning rush hour as schoolchildren and commuters travelled to downtown Jerusalem from Gilo. The explosion lifted the bus off the ground, tore off its roof and sent bodies flying through the windows.[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/6/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20Patt%20junction%20in%20Jerusalem%20-%2018 Patt Junction terror attack]{{cite web|url=http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000086.html|title=Mideast Dispatch Archive: Bombed Israeli bus to be exhibited in New York, and other stories|access-date=14 December 2014}} Two residents of the East Jerusalem suburb of Jabel Mukaber were tried and convicted for transporting the suicide bomber. During a commando raid in Nablus on June 30, Israeli soldiers killed senior Hamas bomb-maker Muhaned Taher, who according to Israel was behind this and other attacks.Peter Beaumont, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/02/israel 'Hamas threat over killing of key bomber,'] The Guardian 2 July 2002
Aftermath
{{Expand section|date=April 2011}}
=Charred bus exhibit=
The charred remains of the bus were shipped to America and displayed at the biannual Jewish Expo fair in New York at the initiative of Zaka, an Israeli rescue and body parts recovery organization whose volunteers scrape up fragments of blood and flesh from bomb scenes for burial in keeping with Jewish law. Zaka said its aim was to increase awareness of its work and show the effects of suicide bombings.{{cite web|url=http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000086.html|title=Mideast Dispatch Archive: Bombed Israeli bus to be exhibited in New York, and other stories|access-date=14 December 2014}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20020619wednesday.html Suicide Bomber Hits Jerusalem Bus, Killing At Least 18] - published on The New York Times on June 19, 2002
- [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/6/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20Patt%20junction%20in%20Jerusalem%20-%2018 Suicide bombing at Patt junction in Jerusalem - 18-Jun-2002] - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100214100236/http://www.hulu.com/watch/126229/diameter-of-the-bomb Diameter of the Bomb, Documentary about the bombing] - published on hulu.com
- [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h91WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0OsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5178,4710616 Bus Turned to Carnage in Instant] - published on Eugene Register-Guard on June 19, 2002
{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 2000s}}
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s}}
{{Hamas}}
Category:Hamas suicide bombings of buses
Category:Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2002
Category:Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 2000s
Category:Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada
Category:21st-century mass murder in Jerusalem
Category:Suicide bombings in Jerusalem
Category:Suicide bombings in 2002
Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2002