Ramat Rachel shooting attack
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Short description|1956 massacre of Israeli civilians by Jordanian soldiers}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
| title = Ramat Rachel shooting attack
| partof = Palestinian Fedayeen insurgency
| image = Ramat Rachel Archeological Park 1001 07.jpg
| map = {{Location map|Israel jerusalem|caption=The attack site}}
| caption =
| location = Near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, Israel
| target =
| date = {{start date and age|1956|9|23|df=yes}}
| native_name = פיגוע הירי ברמת רחל
| native_name_lang = he
| coordinates = {{coord |31|44|23|N|35|13|01|E|display=inline,title}}
| time-begin =
| time-end =
| timezone =
| type = Mass shooting
| weapons = Submachine guns, Rifles
| fatalities = 4 Israeli civilians
| injuries = 16 Israeli civilians
| perps =
| assailants = Jordanian Legion soldiers
}}
{{Campaignbox Palestinian Fedayeen insurgency}}
The Ramat Rachel shooting attack was a mass shooting carried out by Jordanian Legion soldiers, on 23 September 1956, who opened fire across the Israel/Jordan border on a group of Israeli archaeologists working inside Israeli sovereign territory near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. Four Israeli archaeologists were killed in the event and 16 others were wounded.
The attack
On Sunday, 23 September 1956, a tour was held for a group of Israeli archaeologists at the archaeological excavations near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. During the tour machine-gun fire was opened on the archaeologists from Jordanian positions at Mar Elias Monastery near the Jerusalem-Bethlehem road. The fire killed four people, including the archaeologist Jacob Pinkerfeld, and 16 others were wounded.{{Cite web |title=1948-1967: Major Terror Attacks |url=https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/ABOUTISRAEL/MAPS/Pages/1948-1967-%20Major%20Terror%20Attacks.aspx |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=embassies.gov.il |language=en}} Another person who was seriously injured in the shooting died eventually of his wounds five years later.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}{{dubious|reason=The still active newspaper link indicated mentions 3 dead, the title of the dead link also. So was it 3+1 later=4, rather than 4+1=5? Or did another wounded casualty die between the first 3 and the final 5th after 5 years? No source, no answer... Figures from thin air.|date=August 2016}}
Official reactions
- {{Flag|Jordan}}: Jordan expressed regret for the incident and blamed a single soldier who was "suddenly taken by madness".Israel Rejects Jordan's Claim Madman Killed 3, Meriden Journal, 24 September 1956, accessed 16 August 2016 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=T7xIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ogENAAAAIBAJ&pg=4564,1767024] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308174922/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=T7xIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ogENAAAAIBAJ&pg=4564,1767024|date=8 March 2021}}
- {{Flag|Israel}}: Israeli foreign ministry spokesman called Jordan's version completely unfounded, quoting witnesses at the event who stated that two submachine guns and three rifles were clearly seen firing from two Jordanian army outposts across the border at the archaeologists in Ramat Rachel.
Aftermath
In response to the Ramat Rachel shooting attack, The Israeli Defence Forces carried out the Operation Lulav on 25 September 1956; the counterattack was held in the Arab village Husan, near Bethlehem. This operation resulted in the deaths of 39 Jordanian soldiers and 10 Israeli paratroopers.{{Cite web |title=Black Arrow Memorial |url=https://www.kkl-jnf.org/hiking_and_walking_tracks/black-arrow-memorial/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=kkl-jnf.org |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://archive.today/20130124132526/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UFIaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sSUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7140,2357301 Gunfire Kills Three Israelis] - Published in Milwaukee Journal on 23 September 1956 (dead link as of August 2016)
{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 1950s}}
Category:1956 murders in Israel
Category:Spree shootings in Asia
Category:Child murder in Israel
Category:September 1956 in Asia
Category:Mass shootings in Jerusalem
Category:1956 mass shootings in Asia
Category:History of archaeology
Category:Jordan in the Arab–Israeli conflict
Category:Jerusalem in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Category:War crimes in the Arab–Israeli conflict