2003 French Hill suicide bombings

The 2003 French hill suicide bombings was a twin suicide bombing of an Egged bus in the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem, on 18 May 2003. Seven passengers were killed in the attack, and 20 injured. A few minutes after the first attack, a second suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the village of Dahiya el-Barid, near Jerusalem. Only the bomber was killed in what appeared to be a premature detonation.[1][2]

2003 French Hill suicide bombings
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign

The attack site
LocationJerusalem
Date18 May 2003
5:45 am
Attack type
Suicide bombings
Deaths7 Israeli civilians (+ 1 bomber)
Injured20 Israeli civilians
PerpetratorsHamas claimed responsibility

The attacks

The first attack took place at 5:45 am, during the morning rush hour, when a Palestinian suicide bomber disguised as a Haredi detonated a nail-studded explosive belt strapped to his body on a No. 6 passenger bus near the French Hill section of northern Jerusalem. Seven civilians were killed in the attack, including four Russian immigrants and an Arab resident of Jerusalem.[3] In addition, 20 were injured in the attack, four of them seriously.[1][2][3][4]

A few minutes after the first attack, another suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the village of Dahiya el-Barid, near Jerusalem. Only the bomber was killed in what appeared to be a premature detonation.[1][2]

Fatalities

  • Nelly Perov, 55, of Jerusalem[5]
  • Olga Brenner, 52, of Jerusalem[6]
  • Roni Yisraeli, 34, of Jerusalem[7]
  • Yitzhak Moyal, 64, of Jerusalem[8]
  • Ghalab Tawil, 42, of Shuafat[9]
  • Marina Tsahivershvili, 44, of Jerusalem[10]
  • Shimon Ustinsky, 68, of Jerusalem[11]

The perpetrator

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, relatives of 19-year-old Hamas activist Bassem Jamil Tarkrouri, who originated from Hebron, officially identified him as the perpetrator of the attack.[3]

Official reactions

Involved parties

 Israel: Israeli officials spoke about the bombings, stating they "will continue to fight terror everywhere, at any time and in any way possible".[3]

 Palestinian territories:

International
  •  USA – Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke about the bombings, stating "we in the strongest possible terms the horrific terrorist bombing."[12]
  •  Russia – Russian officials condemned the attack, and called on the international community to "intensify efforts to combat terrorism and activate peace efforts for the Mideast".[13]

See also

References

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