Bat Mitzvah massacre
The Bat Mitzvah massacre was a terrorist attack in Hadera, Israel, on Thursday, January 17, 2002, in which a Palestinian gunman, 24-year-old Abdul Salaam Sadek Hassouneh, killed six people and wounded 33 at a Bat Mitzvah celebration, a traditional Jewish celebration held for a 12-year-old girl.[1][2]
| Bat Mitzvah massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign | |
  The attack site | |
| Location | Hadera, Israel |
| Date | January 17, 2002 9:45 pm (GMT+2) |
Attack type | Mass shooting, massacre, murder-suicide, suicide bombing |
| Weapons | M16 assault rifle |
| Deaths | 7 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 33 |
| Perpetrator | Abdul Salaam Sadek Hassouneh (al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility) |
Attack
The attack took place at 9:45 pm (GMT+2) as guests were departing.[3] The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades assumed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was vengeance for the killing of its leader Raed Karmi. An Israeli police spokesman said the man, apparently on a suicide mission, had thrown several grenades into the Armon David wedding hall, where the Bat Mitzvah celebration had taken place, and detonated explosives on himself. A belt filled with explosives was found on the attacker.[1]
Media coverage
The Al Jazeera television network was criticized for bias in coverage of the massacre, failing to note that the victims were attending a bat mitzvah and that the gunman crashed the event at a crowded banquet hall, and failing to mention the number of people killed by Raed Karmi when covering his assassination several days earlier, which would have provided context for the story.[5]
Perpetrator
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said the attacker, 24-year-old Abdel Salam Hassouna, was from a village near Nablus and launched the attack to avenge the death of Raed Karmi.[1]
After the attack a video made earlier by the attacker was released, in which he is seen declaring: "I am doing this to avenge all the Palestinian martyrs."[5]
Official reactions
- Involved parties
Israel
Palestinian territories:
- The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack but blamed Israel for provoking it.[3]
- International
United States: the US government condemned the Hadera attack "in the strongest possible terms," calling it a "horrific act of terrorism."[3]
See also
References
- Bat mitzvah massacre in Israel leaves seven dead, Phil Reeves, 18 January 2002
- Jackson, Brian A. (2007). Breaching the Fortress Wall: Understanding Terrorist Efforts to Overcome Defensive Technologies. Rand Corporation. ISBN 9780833039149.
- Gunman kills 6 Israelis; jets fire missiles in response, January 18, 2002. CNN
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2013-11-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Perspectives on war. Hickey, Neil, Columbia Journalism Review, March 1, 2002
External links
- Seven killed in attack in Israel - published on BBC News on January 18, 2002
- Seven Suicide terrorist kills 6 at Bat Mitzvah in Israel - published on the New York Post on January 18, 2002
