Attacks against Jerusalem In recent years there have been 24 Palestinian suicide bomb attacks in Jerusalem alone, and hundreds of other attacks in the city – stabbings, shootings, kidnappings – as well as many attempted attacks, which were foiled. The attacks have been carried out by Palestinians entering Jerusalem from Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah and villages across the West Bank. The following attacks have killed 249 Israeli citizens of Jerusalem, and several non-Israelis visiting the city (we include in the chronology the timing of the Israeli Government’s decision to build the security fence):- Bus bomb, North Jerusalem, 4 killed – 21 August 1995 Number 18 bus, Central Jerusalem, 25 killed – 25 February 1996 Number 18 bus, Central Jerusalem, 20 killed – 3 March 1996 Machane Yehuda central open-air marketplace, double-bombing, 16 killed, 178 injured – 30 July 1997 Ben-Yehuda central pedestrian mall, triple bombing – 5 killed, 181 injured – 5 September 1997 Sbarro Pizzeria – 15 killed, 130 injured – 9 August 2001 Jaffa Road, central Jerusalem, 1 killed, 150 injured – 27 January 2002 Synagogue entrance, Beit Yisrael quarter of Jerusalem, 11 killed, 50 injured – 2 March 2002 Moment café, Central Jerusalem, 11 killed, 54 injured – 9 March 2002 Supermarket, Jerusalem, 2 killed, 28 injured – 29 March 2002 Police roadblock, 1 killed – 1 April 2002 Machane Yehuda open-air marketplace, central Jerusalem, 6 killed, 104 injured – 12 April 2002 Number 32A bus, Patt junction, south Jerusalem, 19 killed, 70 injured – 18 June 2002 French Hill bus stop, North Jerusalem, 7 killed, 50 injured – 19 June 2002
Student cafeteria, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9 killed, 85 injured – 31 July 2002 Number 20 bus, Jerusalem, 11 killed, 50 injured – 21 November 2002 Number 6 bus, North Jerusalem, 7 killed, 20 injured – 18 May 2003 Number 14A bus, Central Jerusalem, 17 killed, 100 injured – 11 June 2003 Number 2 bus from the Western Wall, Jerusalem, 23 killed, 130 injured – 19 August 2003 Number 19 bus, central Jerusalem, 11 killed, 50 injured – 29 January 2004 Number 14 bus, central Jerusalem, 7 killed, 60 injured – 22 February 2004 Palestinians from East Jerusalem have been held responsible for carrying out attacks elsewhere in Israel, including the May 2002 attempt to explode the Pi Glilot gas storage facility in North Tel-Aviv (which could have killed thousands of people.): see Briefing 4. By November 2005, the security fence around Jerusalem was far from complete. Israel has continued to rely on army and police checkpoints to intercept incoming attackers. Many Palestinian attacks have been foiled in this way: see Briefings 88 and 144. (These Israeli checkpoints have also been subject to extensive international criticism). In August 2005, following Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, Hamas leaders declared that they wished to target future bombing attacks on Jerusalem: see Briefing 154. Conclusion The security fence disrupts Palestinian life. It is ugly, inconvenient, and a symbol of conflict. But responsibility for the fence lies with the Palestinian groups which compelled Israel to build it, as a last resort, in the first place. Terrorism against Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel has “disrupted Israeli life” too – this needs to be brought into the equation. The fence is not the inevitable result of Israeli policy, but the inevitable result of Palestinian actions which have killed 249 Jerusalem citizens, and injured and traumatised many more. Related Beyond Images Briefings See All Briefings on the Beyond Images website – particularly the areas called Terrorism against Israel – General; and The Security Fence. |
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