suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

occurred on 12 April 2002 at a bus stop located at the entrance to the

Mahane Yehuda Market Mahane Yehuda Market ( he, שוק מחנה יהודה, ''Shuk Mahane Yehuda''), often referred to as "The Shuk" ( he, השוק, HaShuq), is a marketplace (originally open-air, but now partially covered) in Jerusalem. Popular with locals and touri ...

which is

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

's main fruit and vegetable market. The site of the attack was chosen in order to cause maximum number of casualties. 6 people were killed in the attack and 104 were injured. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack

On Friday, 12 April 2002, Andalib Suleiman, a Palestinian 17-year-old female suicide bomber, detonated an explosive device hidden on her body shortly after 4:00 pm at a bus stop located at the entrance to the popular outdoor market, killing six civilians and injuring 104 people, many of them teenagers and tourists. She was initially misidentified as Nidal Daraghmeh from Jenin.Attack by female suicide bomber thwarted at Erez crossing
20 Jun 2005 During the attack Jerusalem Mayor at the time

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...

was visiting at the Mahane Yehuda Market. The perpetrator first attempted to enter the market, but found security too tight. She then went to Jaffa Road and attempted to board a bus, but was prevented from boarding and set off her bomb, which was packed with nails to inflict maximum damage on victims. The bus was torn to pieces by the impact. Rather than wearing an explosive belt, Andalib carried a black handbag that contained three plastic pipes filled with explosives and nails connected to a battery. She belonged to the

Tanzim ''Tanzim'' ( ar, تنظيم ', "Organization") is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement. Overview The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 by Yasser Arafat and other Fatah leaders to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely consider ...

as well as the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. In her final video she was dressed in black and holding a

Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

while she stated that she was about to die as a symbol of the woman's fight against occupation, and that it was her desire to finish the work that had been started by her two cousins, and to honor the memory of

Wafa Idris Wafa Idris ( ar, وفاء إدريس 1975 – January 27, 2002) was the first female suicide bomber in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. At the time of her death, Idris was a 28-year-old, divorced Red Crescent Volunteer. She lived in the Am'ari ...

, Darine Abu Aisha, and

Ayat al-Akhras Ayat al-Akhras (February 20, 1985 – March 29, 2002) was the third and youngest Palestinian people, Palestinian female suicide bomber who, at age 18 (some sources report her age to be as young as 16), killed herself and two Israeli civilians on M ...

. Two Chinese construction workers were killed in the attack. Muataz Muhammed Abdallah Himouni (21), of Hebron, arrested on 6 May 2002 claimed credit for planning the attack, supplying the bomber with explosives, and directing her to blow herself in a crowd at the Mahane Yehuda market or nearby Jaffa Road. Youssef Moughrabil, along with Muhataz Muhammed Abdallah Himouni and Marwan Saloum, planned and trained Andalib for the attack. Taleb Amr, known more commonly as Abu Ali, a Tanzim military activist supplied the weapons and the explosives for Andalib. Hours before the attack Andalib met with Himouni and Saloum to learn how to detonate the bomb. On Friday April 12, 2002 Andalib was driven to Abu Dis where she took a taxi to Jerusalem. From there Andalib went to the outside market Mahane Yehuda and detonated the bomb at a bus stop. The suicide bomber lived in the village of Beit Fajar, sixteen kilometers south of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, where her entire family clan the Takatka resides. Her two cousins Iman Takatka, age seventeen, and Samia Takatka, age twenty-one, were captured by Israeli security forces as they prepared to carry out suicide bombings at Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market. The girls were taken to an Israeli prison and in response to the attempted attack, their family's home was demolished by the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

, and Andalib witnessed this. Intelligence reports indicate that Andalib was impregnated by a Fatah operative, despite being unmarried, and that the emotional and social consequences of her unplanned pregnancy directly influenced her decision to carry out a suicide bombing.Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Blackmailing Young Women into Suicide Terrorism
12 February 2002 Perpetrator Andalib Suleiman Takatka (Andaliv Takatka) was the fourth Palestinian female suicide bomber. She killed six people, seven including herself, and injured over forty at a bus stop on Jaffa Road outside of the open-air Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on April 12, 2002. Rather than wearing an explosive belt, Andalib carried a black handbag that contained three plastic pipes filled with explosives and nails connected to a battery. She belonged to the Tanzim as well as the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. In her final video she was dressed in black and holding a Koran while she stated that she was about to die as a symbol of the woman's fight against occupation, and that it was her desire to finish the work that had been started by her two cousins, and to honor the memory of Wafa Idris, Darine Abu Aisha, and Ayat al-Akhras. Two Chinese construction workers were killed in the attack.

Impact

A scheduled meeting between American Secretary of State

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was cancelled as a result of the bombing.

References

External links

"Terrorist responsible for planning April 12 suicide bombing in Jerusalem arrested during Operation Defensive Shield"
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs; accessed 6 May 2002.
Suicide bomber strikes bus stop in downtown J'lem; injuries reported
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', 12 April 2002.
Young Women in Suicide Terrorism

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahane Yehuda Market bombing Mass murder in 2002 Suicide bombing in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Palestinian terrorism Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem 2000s in Jerusalem April 2002 events in Asia 2002 deaths Palestinian casualties in the Second Intifada Palestinian female murderers Female suicide bombers Palestinian mass murderers Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 2000s Marketplace attacks in Asia

The attack

Impact

See also

References

External links