On 27 July 1980,
Said Al Nasr
Said Al Nasr (alt. Said al-Nasser; Nassar Saeed, ar, سعيد النصر) was a Syrian Palestinian known for carrying out the 28 July 1980 Antwerp summer camp attack, in which he attacked a group of 40 Jewish children waiting with their families ...
, a
Syria-born Palestinian, used
grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s to attack a group of 40 Jewish children waiting with their families for a bus to take them to
summer camp
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...
. One boy was killed and 20 other people were wounded in the attack. The attacker was convicted.
Attack
The attack took place outside the Agoudath Israel cultural centre in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, . The group of children, aged 10 to 14, originating from
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, were accompanied by their families as they waited to board a bus to take them to a summer camp in the
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
hills of southern Belgium.
The explosion killed one boy, 15-year-old
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
ian David Kohane, and wounded 20, aged 8 to 27, eight of whom had to be hospitalized,
including a 13-year-old Belgian girl with critical brain injuries and a pregnant woman.
2 young brothers Zevi and Motti Glejser aged 8 and 9 respectively were walking past at the time of the attack and were wounded and hospitalised.
The attacker was arrested after witnesses chased him down. In addition to the thrown grenades, he was carrying a pistol and "several
magazines
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
of ammunition" that had not used in the attack.
The attack was among a number of anti-Jewish attacks worldwide in the early 1980s.
Perpetrator
Al Nasr is a
Syrian-Palestinian, was convicted in Belgium in 1980, for throwing two
hand grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s into a group of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
children waiting for a bus in Antwerp on 27 July 1980.
He was carrying a Moroccan passport at the time of his arrest.
In 1990, the jailed Al Nasr was "traded" for part of the Houtekins-Kets family, a Belgian-French family kidnapped in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
—a demand of the
Abu Nidal
Sabri Khalil al-Banna (May 1937 – 16 August 2002), known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Nidal, was the founder of Fatah: The Revolutionary Council, a militant Palestinians, Palestinian splinter group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal ...
group—during the
Silco incident
The Silco Incident involves the kidnapping of the Belgian-French family Houtekins-Kets by the Libyan government from their yacht ''Silco'' in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea on August 1, 1985.
Capture and release
The Belgian part of the fam ...
.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Antwerp attack, 1980
1980 attack
1980 murders in Belgium
20th-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations
Abu Nidal attacks
Antisemitism in Belgium
Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Europe
1980 attack
Improvised explosive device bombings in 1980
Explosions in Belgium
Jewish Belgian history
Jews and Judaism in Antwerp
1980 crimes
July 1980 events
July 1980 events in Europe
Palestinian terrorist incidents in Belgium
Terrorist incidents in Belgium in 1980