The Allenby Street bus bombing was a Palestinian suicide bombing that occurred on September 19, 2002 on a Dan bus in the center of Tel Aviv's business district. Six civilians were killed in the attack and approximately 70 were injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
| Allenby Street bus bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign | |
 The attack aftermath | |
  The attack site | |
| Location | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Coordinates | 32°03′53″N 34°46′21″E / 32.06472°N 34.77250°E |
| Date | September 19, 2002 c. 13:00 |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 6 civilians (+1 bomber) |
| Injured | ≈ 70 |
| Perpetrator | Hamas claimed responsibility |
The attack
Shortly before 13:00 on Thursday, 19 September 2002, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the front part of a crowded bus in the heart Tel Aviv's business district. The attack was carried out on Dan commuter bus No. 4 as the bus was passing through Allenby Street in front of the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv. Six people were killed and approximately 70 were injured in the attack.[1][2][3][4][5]
The Palestinian Islamist militant organization Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.[3]
- Photos from the attack scene
-
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Israeli Police forensic officer inside the bus.
Aftermath
Israeli retaliation
The Israeli government accused Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian leadership of involvement in the Second Intifada militancy campaign and in illegal arms trafficking. After an emergency meeting of the security cabinet, convened in wake of the bombing, Israel launched a military operation in the West Bank in which tanks and armored vehicles began a siege on the compound of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.[6] Arafat was besieged in the Mukataa compound for close to two years until his departure to a hospital in Paris in October 2004. Much of the Mukataa was destroyed by the IDF in the course of the siege.
Organ donation
Among the victims was Yoni Jesner, a Jewish teenager who attended Har Etzion yeshiva in Gush Etzion. Jesner sustained a critical head injury, and his parents signed their consent to detaching him from life support and donating his organs. Yasmin Abu Ramila, a 7-year old Palestinian girl from East Jerusalem, was the recipient of his kidney. The surgery was successful and Yasmin reportedly has a very good chance of living a normal life.[7][8] The story was widely reported due to the circumstances and Jesner's organ being donated to a child on the opposite side of the conflict.[9]
Official reactions
Involved parties
Israel: Israeli officials stated that the attack indicated that the Palestinian leadership was still unable or unwilling to rein in militants attacking Israeli targets.[10]
- Palestinian National Authority - PNA officials condemned the attack and asked all Palestinian groups to denounce it.[11]
- Hamas spokesman Ismail Abu Shanab stated that he expected to see "a series of operations against the Zionist enemy, as a result of the daily brutal crimes against our people."[12]
International
USA – At a meeting in the Oval Office US President George Bush strongly condemned the attack and stated that "All parties must do everything they can to reject and stop violence"[12]
Supranational
European Union – EU officials called on Israel to show restraint, suggesting that a harsh Israeli reprisal for the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, which was claimed by Arafat's opponents, would ruin efforts made to reform the Palestinian National Authority and to secure a ceasefire between the parties.[13]
See also
References
- ^ "USATODAY.com - Six killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on Tel Aviv bus". USA Today. 19 September 2002. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Steele, Jonathan (20 September 2002). "Tel Aviv bus bomb shatters hopes of truce | World news | The Guardian". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Fatal bus blast rocks Tel Aviv". BBC News. London: BBC. 19 September 2002. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Schmemann, Serge (September 20, 2002). "Suicide Bomber Kills 5 on a Bus in Tel Aviv - New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "CNN.com - Jerrold Kessel: Heart of Tel Aviv hit - Sep. 19, 2002". cnn.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Huggler, Justin (21 September 2002). "Arafat trapped in compound as tank shells rain down". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ Phillips, Alan (24 September 2002). "Organ donation breaches divide". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- ^ Orit Brawer Ben-Davida, "Ranking deaths in Israeli society: Premature deaths and organ donation – Mortality: Promoting the interdisciplinary study of death and dying", Mortality, Volume 11, Issue 1, February 2006, pages 79–98
- ^ "Legacy of bomb victim". The Jewish Chronicle. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- ^ "washingtonpost.com - search nation, world, technology and Washington area news archives". Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "Lateline - 19/9/2002: Five killed in Tel Aviv blast. Australian Broadcasting Corp". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ a b "USATODAY.com - Six killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on Tel Aviv bus". USA Today. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "The Island Packet - Google News Archive Search". Archived from the original on 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
External links
- Six killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on Tel Aviv bus - published on USA Today on September 19, 2002
- Tel Aviv bus bomb shatters hopes of truce - published on The Guardian on September 20, 2002
- Fatal bus blast rocks Tel Aviv - published on BBC News on September 19, 2002
- Suicide Bomber Kills 5 on a Bus in Tel Aviv - published on The New York Times on September 20, 2002
- Heart of Tel Aviv hit - published on CNN on September 19, 2002