The Beersheba bus bombings were two
suicide bombings carried out nearly simultaneously aboard commuter buses in
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, on August 31, 2004. 16 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Background
The previous major attack on Be'er sheva was the 19 October 1998 grenade attack on the Central bus station, where 64
people were wounded when a Palestinian from Hebron threw two grenades at the bus station.
During the
Second Intifada in the early 2000s (decade), at the time which was characterized by an
intensified period of suicide attacks were carried out in Israel by the Palestinian militant organizations in Israel, Be'er Sheva was considered a relatively safe place, as it did not experience any terror attacks.
In 2004, the year in which the attack was carried out, the second intifada was declining, and then the tensions escalated in March 2004, with the assassination of the leader of
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
Ahmed Yassin. A month later, in April, Yassin's successor
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Abdel Aziz Ali Abdul Majid al-Rantisi ( ar, عبد العزيز علي عبد المجيد الحفيظ الرنتيسي; 23 October 1947 – 17 April 2004), nicknamed the "Lion of Palestine" was the co-founder of Palestinian Sunni-Islamic org ...
was assassinated. After those two assassinations Israel had the quietest four months since the outbreak of the Second Intifada, which came to an end when the Beersheba bus bombings were carried out.
The attacks
At time of the attacks, the "
Metrodan Beersheba"
public bus
Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable.
History of buses Origins
While there are indications ...
es (lines 6 and 12) were packed with Israeli civilians and were traveling along the main street of Beersheba, Rager Boulevard, near the City hall, at a very crowded place. At 14:50 pm, the first bomber blew up the explosive device hidden underneath his clothes on bus No. 6 as the bus passed a busy intersection in the center of town. Two minutes later, the second bomber blew himself up while on board bus No. 12 which was located about 100 meters away from the first bus. The force of the explosion, which blew away and mutilated the limbs of many civilians, made it difficult for the authorities to identify the victims. The youngest victim was a 3½ year old boy killed while sitting on his mother's lap.
The perpetrators
After the attacks the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB , the military wing of
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
, claimed responsibility for the attacks. A video tape released after the attack by Hamas showed the two suicide bombers, Nassem Jabari (22) and Ahmad Qawasameh (26), posing with rifles and posters.
Hamas distributed leaflets in
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
which stated that the attack was in revenge for the assassination of Hamas leaders
Ahmed Yassin and
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Abdel Aziz Ali Abdul Majid al-Rantisi ( ar, عبد العزيز علي عبد المجيد الحفيظ الرنتيسي; 23 October 1947 – 17 April 2004), nicknamed the "Lion of Palestine" was the co-founder of Palestinian Sunni-Islamic org ...
by Israel. The Israeli government accused
Syria and "terror command posts in Damascus" of involvement in the attack.
[Targeting terrorists: a license to kill? By Avery Plaw. p. 79]
Reactions
Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to the streets to celebrate.
[Palestinians celebrate deadly Israeli bus bombings](_blank)
Reuters.
The Israeli Foreign Minister
Silvan Shalom
Zion Silvan Shalom ( he, ציון סילבן שלום, born 4 August 1958) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1992 and 2015. He held several prominent ministerial positions, including being Vice Prim ...
placed the blame on
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
for not preventing the attacks, and for bringing nothing but "terror and evil" since his return to the
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The ...
.
[Double bombing of buses in Beersheba](_blank)
Press Release. Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.August 31, 2004
Aftermath
The lethal attack was a shock to the Israeli public, especially due to the fact that the two Palestinian suicide bombers managed to get from
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
to Beersheba after simply walking across the
Green Line demarcation lines without difficulty. For this reason, after the attack many Israeli public officials, including Police Commissioner
Moshe Karadi made emphasized that a hermetic separation barrier between Israel and the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
was vital to Israel's security. The southern part of the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian ...
was completed only after the attack.
"Two bus blasts in southern Israel kill 16"
''China Daily
''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
Overview
''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
'', September 1, 2004
On September 26, 2004, Izz El-Deen Sheikh Khalil, a senior member of Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
' military wing, was killed in a car bombing in the al-Zahera district of southern Damascus, Syria. The killing was blamed on Israeli agents. Officially, the Israeli government refused to claim responsibility, but unnamed Israeli sources unofficially acknowledged that Israel had assassinated Khalil as a response to the Beersheba bus bombings.
See also
*Beersheva bus station shooting
On 18 October 2015, a gunman shot and killed the 19-year-old Israeli soldier Omri Levy in a bus station in Beersheba. After killing the soldier, he took his automatic rifle and fired into a crowd. When more security officers appeared, the gunman ...
References
External links
Twin Blasts Kill 16 in Israel; Hamas Claims Responsibility
– published on The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
on September 1, 2004
16 killed in suicide bombings on buses in Israel
– published on CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
on September 1, 2004
Suicide terrorists blow up buses in southern Israel
– published on USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
on August 31, 2004
16 die in Be'er Sheva bombings
– published on Haaretz on September 1, 2004
Be'er Sheva bus bombers were part of Hamas cell in Hebron
– published on Haaretz on September 1, 2004
Double bombing of buses in Beersheba
– published on August 31, 2004 on the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...
website
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s
Mass murder in 2004
Suicide bombings in 2004
Hamas suicide bombings of buses
Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada
Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2004
August 2004 events in Asia
Islamic terrorism in Israel