- Jerusalem BMW attack
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2008 Jerusalem BMW attack Location Jerusalem, Israel Coordinates 31°46′44″N 35°13′30″E / 31.77889°N 35.225°E Date 22 September 2008 Attack type Vehicle attack Weapon(s) BMW saloon car Death(s) one(perpetrator Injured 19 Perpetrator(s) Lone Palestinian assailant (Qassem Mughrabi). The Jerusalem BMW attack was a terrorist attack which took place in Jerusalem, Israel on September 22, 2008 in which 19 people were injured by a BMW saloon car. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence analysts, this attack represents a new militant tactic which is less lethal but could prove more difficult to prevent than suicide bombings.[1]
Contents
Background
The attack was a third in a series of terrorist attacks involving a new tactic, using vehicles as weapons. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence, "while not thus far as deadly as suicide bombing", this tactic could prove more difficult to prevent. No single group has claimed responsibility for the incidents.[1]
On July 2, 2008, Husam Tayseer Dwayat, an Arab Israeli citizen from the Sur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem drove an earthmover along Jaffa Road in West Jerusalem, slamming into a bus and passing cars. Four people were killed and another 45 were injured.[1]
Later that month, on July 22, 2008, Ghassan Abu Tir, from the Umm Tuba neighborhood of East Jerusalem, drove a front-loader into traffic on King David Street in West Jerusalem, slamming into a bus and passing cars. Sixteen people were injured.[1]
The attack
On September 22, 2008 the perpetrator, Qassem Mughrabi, a 19-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem's Jabal Mukaber neighborhood, drove a black BMW Saloon into a group of off-duty soldiers standing on a Jerusalem street.[2] [3] 19 people were injured.[4]
Mughrabi was shot dead at the scene[5] by off-duty soldier Lt. Elad Amar. Amar told Army Radio that the attacker "drove towards the soldiers at top speed, plowed onto the traffic island, ran over soldiers and civilians and then continued, ramming into a building. At that point I assessed that it was a terror attack and decided to neutralize the driver so that he wouldn't be able to reverse the car and continue the attack."[6]
The perpetrator
According to the Palestinian Ma'an news agency, Qassem Mughrabi was a member of Hamas.[7] Mughrabi's family denied that the event was a terror attack. Mahmoud Mughrabi, Qassem's father, said his son did not have a driving license and apparently lost control of the car. "My son was murdered, they killed him. He did not carry out a terrorist attack. This was a car accident." However, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were convinced the attack was politically motivated. "We're 100 percent sure ... he deliberately drove into people," Rosenfeld said.[8]
See also
External links
- 13 Israeli Soldiers Hurt in Palestinian Vehicle Attack - published on Fox News on September 22, 2008
- 13 hurt by vehicle attack in Israel; driver killed - published on USA Today on September 22, 2008
- Troops hurt in Jerusalem car attack - published on Aljazeera on September 23, 2008
- 17 hurt as terrorist plows car into Jerusalem crowd - published on Haaretz on September 22, 2008
References
- ^ a b c d Israel: Vehicle Attacks - A New Militant Tactic?. Stratfor Global Intelligence
- ^ Palestinian Car Rams Israelis, By ISABEL KERSHNER, September 22, 2008, New York Times [1]
- ^ Sep 22, 2008, 15 wounded in terror attack at busy Jerusalem intersection, By ETGAR LEFKOVITS, SHELLY PAZ, Jerusalem Post [2]
- ^ Terrorist in car rams 19 in J'lem, By Jonathan Lis
- ^ Palestinian drives into crowd, injures 15, police say, CNN
- ^ 'He drove towards group at top speed,' Jerusalem Post, Sept. 23, 2008
- ^ 'J'lem terrorist was a Hamas member', by Etgar Lefkovits, Jerusalem Post Sep 23, 2008 [3]
- ^ "Father of Jerusalem attacker: My son's no terrorist". Haaretz. 2008-09-23. http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023694.html. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
Prominent terrorist attacks against Israeli targets in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 2000s 2000 2001 Murder of Ofir Rahum (January 17) – Netanya bombing (March 4) – Murder of Shalhevet Pass (March 26) – Murder of Koby Mandell and Yosef Ishran (May 8) – 1st HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing (May 18) – Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing (June 1) – Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing (August 9) – Nahariya train station suicide bombing (September 9) – Assassination of the Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze'evi (October 17) – Egged bus 823 bombing (November 29) – Ben Yehuda Street Bombings (December 1) – Haifa bus 16 suicide bombing (December 2) – Immanuel bus attack (December 12)2002 Bat Mitzvah massacre (January 18) – Tel Aviv outdoor mall bombing (January 25) – Jaffa Street bombing (January 27) – Karnei Shomron Mall suicide bombing (February 16) – Yeshivat Beit Yisrael massacre (March 2) – Café Moment bombing (March 9) – Matzuva attack (March 12) – Egged bus 823 bombing (March 20) – King George Street bombing (March 21) – Passover massacre (March 27) ‡ – Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing (March 29) – Matza restaurant suicide bombing (March 31) – Yagur Junction bombing (April 10) – Mahane Yehuda Market bombing (April 12) – Rishon LeZion bombing (May 7) – Netanya Market bombing (May 19) – Pi Glilot bombing (May 23) – Megiddo Junction bus bombing (June 5) – Herzliya shawarma restaurant bombing (June 11) – Patt Junction Bus Bombing (June 18) – French Hill Junction massacre (June 19) – Itamar attack (June 20) – Immanuel bus attack (July 16) – Neve Shaanan Street bombing (July 17) – Hebrew University massacre (July 31) – Meron Junction Bus 361 attack (August 4) – Allenby Street bus bombing (September 19) – Karkur junction suicide bombing (October 21) – Sonol gas station bombing (October 27) – Hebron ambush (November 15) – Kiryat Menachem bus bombing (November 21) – Mombasa attacks (November 28) – Beit She'an attack (November 28)2003 Tel-Aviv central bus station massacre (January 5) – Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing (March 5) – Mike's Place suicide bombing (April 30) – Jerusalem bombings (May 18) – Afula mall bombing (May 19) – Davidka Square bus bombing (June 11) – Murder of Oleg Shaichat (July 28) – Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing (August 19) – Tzrifin bus stop attack (September 9) – Café Hillel bombing (September 9) – Maxim restaurant suicide bombing (October 4) – Geha Interchange bus stop bombing (December 25)2004 Erez Crossing bombing (January 14) – Gaza Street bus bombing (January 29) – Liberty Bell Park bus bombing (February 22) – Ashdod Port bombings (March 14) – Murder of Tali Hatuel and her four daughters (May 2) – Tashkent Israeli embassy bombing (July 30) – Beersheba bus bombings (August 31) – Sinai bombings (October 7) – Carmel Market bombing (November 1)2005 Karni border crossing attack (January 13) – Stage Club bombing (February 25) – 2nd HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing (July 12) – Shfar'am attack (August 4) – Hadera Market bombing (October 26) – 3rd HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing (December 5)2006 Kedumim bombing (March 30) – Tel Aviv shawarma restaurant bombing (April 17) – Hamas cross-border raid (June 25) – Murder of Eliyahu Asheri (June 25) – Hezbollah cross-border raid (July 12)2007 2008 Dimona suicide bombing (February 4) – Mercaz HaRav massacre (March 6) – Jerusalem bulldozer attack (July 2) – Jerusalem BMW attack (September 22)2009 ‡ indicates the terrorist attack which caused the greatest amount of Israeli casualties during the 2000s
1990s
Full list of Palestinian suicide attacks • List of Israeli civilian casualties in the Second Intifada
Full list of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel • Full list of Lebanese rocket attacks on Israel • Rocket attack on Eilat2010s
Categories:- Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2008
- Terrorism in Jerusalem
- Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups
- Homicides by motor vehicle
- History of Jerusalem
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