The Passover massacre was a
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 ...
carried out by
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 Bri ...
at the Park Hotel in
Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
, Israel on 27 March 2002, during a
Passover seder
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...
. Thirty civilians were killed in the attack and 140 were injured. It was the deadliest attack against Israelis during the
Second Intifada
The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
.
The attack
![Park Hotel in Netenya, Israel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Park_Hotel_in_Netenya%2C_Israel.JPG)
During the Jewish holiday of
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
in 2002, Park Hotel in the Israeli coastal city of
Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
held its traditional annual
Passover seder
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...
for its 250 guests, in the hotel dining room located at the ground floor of the hotel.
On the evening of 27 March 2002, a Palestinian bomber, (or Abd Al-Baset Odeh), disguised as a woman approached the hotel carrying a suitcase which contained powerful explosives. The suicide bomber managed to pass the security guard at the entrance to a hotel, then he walked through the lobby passing the reception desk and entered the hotel's crowded
dining room
A dining room is a room (architecture), room for eating, consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically ...
.
At 19:30 (
GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...
+2) the suicide bomber detonated the explosive device he was carrying. The force of the explosion instantly killed 28 civilians and injured about 140 people, of whom 20 were injured severely. Two of the injured later died from their wounds. Some of the victims were
Holocaust survivor
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
s.
Most of the victims were senior citizens (70 and over). The oldest victim was 90 and the youngest was 20 years old. A number of married couples were killed, as well as a father together with his daughter. One of the victims was a Jewish tourist from Sweden who was visiting Israel for Passover.
Seventy-three of the 140 injured in the attack were evacuated to
Laniado Hospital
Laniado Hospital, also known as the Sanz Medical Center, is a voluntary, not-for-profit hospital in Kiryat Sanz, Netanya, Israel, serving a regional population of over 450,000 in Netanya and the Sharon plain. Opened in 1975 by Rabbi Yekusiel Yeh ...
in neighboring
Kiryat Sanz, Netanya
Kiryat Sanz ( he, קריית צאנז, also spelled Kiriat Tzanz) is a Haredi neighborhood located at the northwestern end of Netanya, Israel. Founded in 1956 by the previous Klausenburger Rebbe, Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, who established ...
. Although established as a regional hospital, Laniado had established a
trauma center
A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major trauma, major traumatic injuries such as Falling (accident), falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma cent ...
and emergency protocol in the wake of
suicide bombings and
terrorist attacks
The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people.
Definitions of terrori ...
in the Netanya area during the
Second Intifada
The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
. In addition to medical teams, the hospital benefited from the volunteerism of
Hasidim
Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...
living in Kiryat Sanz, who donated blood, carried stretchers, and otherwise assisted the medical staff.
According to the indictment filed in the Tel Aviv court, the initial plot for the Passover massacre included the use of
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
; 4 kg of
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
had been bought and prepared for a chemical attack. Tarak Zidan had been recruited to
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 Bri ...
, and during 1997 he researched the use of
chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...
and other
nerve agent
Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...
s to be used in terror attacks. In 2002, 4 kg of chlorine had been bought and packed for the attack. For unknown reasons it was not used and passed to instead.
Hamas response
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 Bri ...
claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomber was identified as (Abd Al-Baset Odeh), a 25-year-old from the nearby
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 ...
city of
Tulkarm
Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of N ...
. Hamas spokesman Usama Hamdan said that "This is a trial (attempt) to send a letter, to send a message, to all the world that we are trying to fight for our own freedom against a terrorist government in Israel led by Sharon" and that Israelis "have to expect those attacks from everywhere, from every Palestinian group."
[Passover massacre' at Israeli hotel kills 19"]
. 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 ...
. 27 March 2002. Another Hamas spokesperson
Abdel Aziz Rantisi said "
long as there is occupation, there will be a resistance" and denied that the attack was timed to coincide with the
peace initiative of the
Saudi government at the
Beirut Summit
The Beirut Summit (also known as the Arab Summit Conference) was a meeting of the Arab League in Beirut, Lebanon in March 2002 to discuss the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. At the time Yassar Arafat, the leader of Palestine, was under house-a ...
, an initiative rejected by Hamas.
Official reactions
Israel
Israeli government spokesman
Gideon Meir
Gideon Meir ( he, גדעון מאיר; 1947 – 15 February 2021) was an Israeli diplomat. He served as its ambassador to Italy from 2006 until 2012. He was noted for being part of the negotiating team that drafted the Egypt–Israel peace ...
related to the attack saying "what we had tonight was a Passover massacre" and added "There is no limit to Palestinian barbarism."
Palestinian Authority
Palestinian Authority officials "strongly condemned" the attack. Palestinian President
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 ...
personally ordered the arrests of militants associated with Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, and the
Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as a response.
[Israel Considers Response to 'Passover Massacre']
. Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
. 28 March 2008.
During a television broadcast on the Palestinian TV channel, Arafat praised the Palestinian people for the current
popular uprising against Israel, but stressed that "We are against killing civilians on both sides".
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, عبدالله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi ...
condemned it, while also commenting that "I will add to this by saying to the Israeli people that if their government stopped its methods of violence and destruction, and agreed to real peace, we will not hesitate in accepting that Israel live in peace with the rest of the nations in the region."
[Latest suicide attack overshadows Arab summit]
. ''Lateline''. Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
. Program originally broadcast 28 March 2002.
United Nations
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
,
United Nations Secretary General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary-ge ...
stated that he condemned suicide bombings against Israeli civilians as morally repugnant.
United States
President of the United States
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
condemned the attack and called 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 ...
and the Palestinian Authority to do everything in their power to stop the terrorist killing.
US 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 ...
stated that the bombing set the peace process back but vowed to continue.
[
]
Aftermath
Diplomacy
In his response to the Arab Peace Initiative
The Arab Peace Initiative ( ar, مبادرة السلام العربية; ), also known as the Saudi Initiative (; ), is a 10 sentence proposal for an end to the Arab–Israeli conflict that was endorsed by the Arab League in 2002 at the Beiru ...
adopted at the Arab League's summit in Beirut, Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel
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 ...
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
noted that "... the details of every peace plan must be discussed directly between Israel and the Palestinians, and to make this possible, the Palestinian Authority must put an end to terror, the horrifying expression of which we witnessed just last night in Netanya."
Israeli retaliation
The attack was perceived in Israel as the high point of a bloody month in which more than 135 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in terror attacks.
Following the Passover massacre attack the Israeli government declared a state of emergency, ordered the immediate recruitment of 20,000 reservists in an emergency call-up, and in the following day launched the large-scale counter-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
operation Operation Defensive Shield in 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 ...
which took place between 29 March and 10 May.
Qeis Adwan, head of the suicide bombing network responsible for the massacre
A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
, was killed by IDF forces on 5 April 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield, after the IDF and the Yamam
The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...
caught him in Tubas
A tuba is a musical instrument that plays notes in the bass clef.
Tuba can also refer to:
Instruments
*Roman tuba, a straight trumpet of ancient Rome
*Tuba curva, a revival of the Roman ''cornu''
*Wagner tuba, an instrument like the tuba curva ...
, some 70 kilometers north of Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. An armored IDF Caterpillar D9
The IDF Caterpillar D9 —nicknamed ''Doobi'' ( he, דובי, for teddy bear) — is a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Israeli armored CAT D9 was heavily modified by the Israel Defense Forces, Isra ...
bulldozer toppled the house where he was hiding, after he was given a chance to surrender and refused.
Arrests and killings of perpetrators
One of the two chief planners of the attack, Qais Adwan, a Hamas member who was involved in numerous attacks in which a total of 77 people were killed, was killed in a shootout with the IDF during Operation Defensive Shield. In May 2002, Israeli forces arrested the other chief planner, . On 22 September 2005, al-Sayed was convicted of the Passover attack and also of ordering the May 2001 bombing of a Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
mall. He received 35 life sentences for each murder victim and additional time for those who were wounded.
Fathi Khatib, who transported the bomber to his target, Mohand Sharim, who financed the operation and helped hide the bomber, Muammar Abu Sheikh, who recruited the bomber to Hamas and transferred the explosive belts used in the attack to an explosives expert for examination, and Nasser Yatiya, who helped transport the explosive belts, were tried and convicted together in an Israeli military court in April 2003 and handed 29 life sentences. Nasser Yatiya was released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange
The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange (; ), also known as "Wafa al-Ahrar" (''"Faithful to the free"''), followed a 2011 agreement between Israel and Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 prisoners — almost all Palest ...
in 2011. Muhammad Taher, who prepared the explosive charges, was killed in a clash with Israeli Shayetet 13
Shayetet 13 ( he, שייטת 13, lit. ''Flotilla 13'') is a unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary sayeret ''(reconnaissance)'' units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, s ...
naval commandos in June 2003.
On 26 March 2008 Hamas commander Omar Jabar, suspected of helping organize the attack, was arrested in Tulkarem
Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of ...
by IDF troops of the Nahshon Battalion Nahshon is an urban warfare-trained infantry battalion in the Israel Defense Forces tasked with patrolling the area of Nablus in the West Bank. History
The battalion motto is "Be first, Nahshon," referring to the Prince of Judah, Nahshon. It is a ...
. In March 2013 he was convicted over his role and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
In September 2009, Muhammad Harwish, a senior 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 Bri ...
militant and a planner of the Passover Massacre, was arrested by the Border Police's elite Yamam
The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...
counter-terror squad in his home village along with an aide, Adnan Samara.
Soccer Championship tournament
In 2003, the Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine, sponsored a soccer tournament, ''Tulkarm Shahids Memorial Soccer Championship Tournament of the Shahid '', describing the perpetrator as a "shahid
''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
" ("martyr").[Cole, Leonard A (2007). ''Terror: How Israel has Coped and What America Can Learn''. ]Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...
. p. 186;
71% of Palestinians polled about the tournament approved of naming it in honor of the bomber.Palestinian Poll
/ref>
See also
* List of massacres in Israel
List of massacres in Israel is a list of massacres that have occurred in Israel after the 1948 Palestine War.
*For massacres that have occurred in Roman Judea prior to the establishment of the Roman province of Syria Palæstina, see List of ...
* List of terrorist incidents, 2002
This is a timeline of incidents in 2002 that have been labelled as "terrorism" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism).
Guidelines
* To be included, entrie ...
* List of Hamas suicide attacks
* Battle of Jenin (2002)
The Battle of Jenin took place in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank on April 1–11, 2002. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered the camp, and other areas under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, during the Second Intifada ...
* Israeli casualties of war
Israeli casualties of war, in addition to those of Israel's nine major wars, include 9,745 soldiers and security forces personnel killed in "miscellaneous engagements and terrorist attacks", which includes security forces members killed durin ...
* Palestinian political violence
Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence perpetrated for political ends in relation to the State of Palestine or in connection with Palestinian nationalism. Common political objectives include self-determination in and soverei ...
References
External links
Passover suicide bombing at Park Hotel in Netanya – 27 March 2002
– published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
"Alleged Passover massacre plotter arrested"
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 ...
, 26 March 2008.
"Hotel blast survivors relive the Passover massacre"
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' 29 March 2002
US President George W Bush "This cold blooded killing must stop", 27 March 2002
Israeli Government spokesman Gideon Meir "Palestinian violence knows no boundaries", 27 March 2002
{{Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Suicide bombings in 2002
Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada
Suicide bombing in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2002
Massacres in 2002
Massacres in Israel
Massacres in Israel during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups
Palestinian terrorism
March 2002 crimes
March 2002 events in Asia
Hamas attacks
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2002
Islamic terrorism in Israel