Allenby Street bus bombing

Allenby Street bus bombing
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign
The attack site The attack site
Location	Tel Aviv, Israel
Coordinates	32°03′53″N 34°46′21″E / 32.06472°N 34.7725°E / 32.06472; 34.7725
Date	September 19, 2002 Shortly before 13:00
Attack type	suicide bombing
Death(s)	6 civilians (+ 1 bomber)
Injured	approximately 70
Perpetrator(s)	Hamas claimed responsibility

The Allenby Street bus bombing was a suicide bombing that occurred on September 19, 2002 on an Dan bus in the center of Tel Aviv's business district. Six people were killed in the attack and approximately 70 were injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

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]

Fatalities

Shoshana (Rosanna) Siso, 63, of Gan Yavneh[6] Ofer Zinger, 29, of Moshav Petza'el[7] Solomon Hoenig, 79, of Tel Aviv[8]

Yossi Mamistavlov, 39 of Or Yehuda[9] Yaffa Shemtov, 49, of Tel Aviv[10] Jonathan (Yoni) Jesner, 19, of Glasgow, Scotland[11]

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.^[12] 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.

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.^[13]

 Palestinian territories:

• Palestinian National Authority - PNA officials condemned the attack and asked all Palestinian groups to denounce it.^[14]
• 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."^[15]

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.^[16]

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"^[15]

See also

• Yoni Jesner and Ahmed Khatib

References

1. ^ "USATODAY.com - Six killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on Tel Aviv bus". USA Today (McLean, VA: Gannett). ISSN 0734-7456. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-09-19-mideast-explosion_x.htm. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
2. ^ "Tel Aviv bus bomb shatters hopes of truce | World news | The Guardian". The Guardian (London: GMG). 20 September 2002. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/sep/20/israel1. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "BBC NEWS | Middle East | Fatal bus blast rocks Tel Aviv". BBC News (London: BBC). 19 September 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2268392.stm. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
4. ^ "Suicide Bomber Kills 5 on a Bus in Tel Aviv - New York Times". The New York Times (New York: NYTC). September 20, 2002. ISSN 0362-4331. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/20/world/suicide-bomber-kills-5-on-a-bus-in-tel-aviv.html. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
5. ^ "CNN.com - Jerrold Kessel: Heart of Tel Aviv hit - Sep. 19, 2002". cnn.com. 2011 [last update]. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/19/kessel.otsc/index.html. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
6. ^ Shoshana (Rosanna) Siso
7. ^ Ofer Zinger
8. ^ Solomon Hoenig
9. ^ Yossi Mamistavlov
10. ^ Yaffa Shemtov
11. ^ Jonathan -Yoni- Jesner
12. ^ The Toronto Star Archive
13. ^ washingtonpost.com - search nation, world, technology and Washington area news archives
14. ^ Lateline - 19/9/2002: Five killed in Tel Aviv blast. Australian Broadcasting Corp
15. ^ ^{a b} USATODAY.com - Six killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on Tel Aviv bus
16. ^ The Island Packet - Google News Archive Search

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