Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing

Dolphinarium suicide bombing
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign
The attack site The attack site
Location	Tel Aviv, Israel
Coordinates	32°04′02″N 34°45′42″E / 32.06722°N 34.76167°E / 32.06722; 34.76167
Date	June 1, 2001 23:30 pm (GMT+2)
Attack type	Suicide attack
Death(s)	21 (+ 1 bomber)
Injured	100+
Perpetrator(s)	Lone Palestinian assailant (Saeed Hotari). Both Islamic Jihad and a group calling itself "Hezbollah-Palestine" originally claimed responsibility.

The Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing was a terrorist attack by on June 1, 2001 in which a suicide bomber Saeed Hotari, a millitant linked to the Palestinian group Hamas, blew himself up outside a discotheque on a beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 21 Israeli teenagers and injuring 132. ^{[1][2][3] [4]}

The attack

Suicide bomber Saeed Hotari was standing in line on a Friday night in front of the Dolphinarium, when the area was packed with youngsters (most of them Russian new arrivals) waiting for admission. Survivors of the attack later described how the young Palestinian bomber appeared to taunt his victims before the explosion, wandering among them dressed in clothes that led some to mistake him for an orthodox Jew from Asia, and banging a drum packed with explosives and ball bearings, while repeating the words in Hebrew: "Something's going to happen".^[5] At 20:30 pm, he detonated his explosive device. It was the second attack in five months on the same target.^[6] Witnesses claimed that body parts lay all over the area, and that bodies were piled one above another on the sidewalk before being collected. Many civilians in the vicinity of the bombing rushed to assist emergency services.

Fatalities

Memorial at the site of the bombing.

One Israeli soldier and 20 civilians, mostly teenagers whose families immigrated from the former Soviet Union, died in the attack:^[7]

Maria Tagiltseva, 14, of Netanya[8] Raisa Nimrovsky, 15, of Netanya[9] Ana Kazachkova, 15, of Holon[10] Katherine Kastaniyada-Talkir, 15, of Ramat Gan[11] Irina Nepomnyashchi, 16, of Bat Yam[12] Mariana Medvedenko, 16, of Tel-Aviv[13] Yulia Nelimov, 16, of Tel Aviv[14] Liana Saakyan, 16, of Ramat Gan[15] Marina Berkovizki, 17, of Tel Aviv[16] Simona Rodin, 18, of Holon[17] Aleksei Lupalu, 16, of the Ukraine[18]

Yelena Nelimov, 18, of Tel Aviv[19] Irena Usdachi, 18, of Holon[20] Ilya Gutman, 19, of Bat Yam[21] Roman Dezanshvili, 21, of Bat Yam[22] Pvt. Diez (Dani) Normanov, 21, of Tel Aviv[23] Ori Shahar, 32, of Ramat Gan[24] Yael-Yulia Sklianik, 15, of Holon[25] – died of her injuries on June 2, 2001 Sergei Panchenko, 20, Ukraine[26] – died of his injuries on June 2, 2001 Jan Bloom, 25, of Ramat Gan[27] – died of his injuries on June 3, 2001 Yevgeniya Dorfman, 15, of Bat-Yam[28] – died of her injuries on June 19, 2001

Perpetrators

Both Islamic Jihad and a group calling itself "Hezbollah-Palestine" originally claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, only to later retract the claims.^[29]

Later on it was revealed that the attack was carried out by Saeed Hotari, a militant linked to the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas.

Official reactions

Involved parties

 Israel:

• Israeli officials called the attack a "massacre".^[30]

 Palestinian territories:

• President of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat condemned the attack and called for a cease-fire;^[31]

Supranational

•  United Nations – UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that he "condemns this indiscriminate terrorist attack in the strongest possible terms." and that the attack "underlines the urgency of breaking the cycle of violence".^[32]

International

•  Kuwait – The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister and acting Premier Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah stated that he does not support Palestinian suicide bombings against civilians.
•  USA – US president George W. Bush stated that he condemns the attack in the strongest terms and that "There is no justification for senseless attacks against innocent civilians."^[33]

Aftermath

After the attack many in the Israeli public demanded a harsh military retaliation, nevertheless, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to not take any immediate retaliatory actions. US and other governments applied heavy diplomatic pressure on Israel to refrain from action.^[31] Nevertheless, the attack was later on noted as one of the reasons cited by the Israeli government for building the Israeli West Bank barrier.^[34]

In Ramallah dozens of Palestinians celebrated in the streets and fired in the air as a sign of happiness. ^[35]The bomber, Saeed Hotari was praised as a martyr by his father. ^[36]President George W. Bush demanded that Arafat condemn the terrorist act.^[37]

According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an Israeli-based organization with close ties to the IDF, among the materials seized by the IDF in the course of Operation Defensive Shield were two documents issued by the Martyrs’ Families and Injured Care Establishment, which falls under the authority of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Affairs. The documents address the transfer of a grant in the sum of $2,000 to the father of the suicide bomber, who was living in Jordan at that time (June 18, 2001). According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, the transfer was made in spite of the suicide bomber’s Hamas affiliation, in spite of the father’s public support of the suicide bombing attack, and in spite of Yasser Arafat’s public condemnation of the suicide bombing attack.^[38]

See also

• Civilian casualties in the Second Intifada
• Shevah Mofet
• Israel casualties of war

External links

• Tel-Aviv suicide bombing at the Dolphin disco - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Dolphin Tragedy – Memorial site
• At Least 17 Dead In Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing – published on Times Daily on June 2, 2001
• At Least 17 Dead, 86 Wounded In Tel Aviv Beachfront Bombing – published on The Item on June 2, 2001
• Eyewitness accounts from the scene of the massacre – published on Ynet on June 2, 2001 (Hebrew)
• Inside the mind of a suicide bomber – published on ABC News on December 6, 2001
• Devotion, desire drive youths to 'martyrdom' – published on USA Today on September 8, 2001
• Driver of the Dolphinarium attack terrorist - charged with homicide – published on Ynet on July 10, 2001 (Hebrew)

References

1. ^ The Palestinian Authority-Hamas Collusion - From Operational Cooperation to Propaganda Hoax
2. ^ O'Sullvian, Arieh (2001-11-25). "No. 1 Hamas terrorist killed. Followers threaten revenge in Tel Aviv.". Jerusalem Post. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-48416289.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
3. ^ Fisher, Ian (2006-01-29). "In Hamas's Overt Hatred, Many Israelis See Hope". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/international/middleeast/29israel.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
4. ^ Ynet - פיגוע בדולפינריום - חדשות
5. ^ 3,000 dead yet peace remains elusive Chris McGreal, The Guardian, Monday 29 September 2003
6. ^ "Bloody Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv - 18 Youth Killed". Ynet. 2001-06-02. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-781748,00.html. Retrieved 2008-05-04.  (Hebrew)
7. ^ "Jun 04, 2001 List of Victims of the Dolphinarium Terrorist Attack". Embassy of Israel in Washington DC. http://www.israelemb.org/articles/dolphy_victims.html. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 
8. ^ Maria Tagiltseva
9. ^ Raisa Nimrovsky
10. ^ Anya Kazachkov
11. ^ Katherine Kastaniyada-Talkir
12. ^ Irina Nepomneschi
13. ^ Mariana Medvedenko
14. ^ Yulia Nelimov
15. ^ Liana Sakiyan
16. ^ Marina Berkovizki
17. ^ Simona Rodin
18. ^ Alexei Lupalo
19. ^ Yelena Nelimov
20. ^ Irena Usdachi
21. ^ Ilya Gutman
22. ^ Roman Dezanshvili
23. ^ Pvt Diez Normanov
24. ^ Ori Shahar
25. ^ Yael-Yulia Sklianik
26. ^ Sergei Panchenko
27. ^ Jan Bloom
28. ^ Yevgenia Dorfman
29. ^ Bomb horror hits Tel Aviv disco, The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2001.
30. ^ Shalom, Silvan. "Q&A with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom." Haaretz. May 8, 2008
31. ^ ^{a b} Deborah Sontag, "Arafat Calls for Cease-Fire, Deploring Tel Aviv Attack", New York Times, June 3, 2001.
32. ^ Press Release SG/SM/7829 of 1 June 2001
33. ^ President Bush condemns bombing in Tel Aviv - CNN
34. ^ Israel Foreign Ministry, Four Years of Conflict: Israel's war against terrorism, October 3, 2004, p. 28
35. ^ Jerusalem Post-Bomb horror hits Tel Aviv disco By David Rudge
36. ^ His father's son: the making of a suicide bomber
37. ^ "Bush to Arafat: You Must Condemn This Terrible Attack". Ynet. 2001-06-02. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-782250,00.html. Retrieved 2008-05-04.  (Hebrew)
38. ^ "The Palestinian Authority's support of Hamas' suicide terrorism". October 2004. http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/html/final/eng/sib/10_04/oct_02.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-04.