Samar Alami
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The 1994 London Israeli Embassy bombing was a
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
attack on 26 July 1994 against the
Israeli embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Israel, excluding honorary consulates. As of November 2021, there are 82 resident embassies, including a Taiwan office, and 22 consulate-generals and two representative missions in the 164 states that reco ...
building in London, England. Twenty civilians were injured. A second bomb was
explode An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
d outside Balfour House,
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
, premises occupied by the UJIA, a registered British charity.


The attack

A car containing of
explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
s parked in front of the embassy blew up minutes after the driver left it. The blast, which caused widespread damage, was heard over a mile away. Apart from damage to the embassy building, shop windows were blown out. The attack took place one day after King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a Jordan- Israel peace treaty. Thirteen hours later another car bomb exploded outside
Balfour House Balfour House is an antebellum mansion located at the corner of Crawford Street and Cherry Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Built in 1835, it was the home of Emma Balfour, celebrated diarist of the Siege of Vicksburg. The red-brick, two-stor ...
, which at the time was the London
headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
of one of the largest Jewish charities, The United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA), injuring six.Yonah Alexander, Edgar H. Brenner (2013)
Document No 24
in ''UK's Legal Responses to Terrorism'', Routledge, p. 693


Aftermath

Initially, the Israeli
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
and British intelligence experts were blaming "pro- Iranian extremists, probably linked to the Lebanon-based
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
group." A group calling themselves the Palestinian Resistance Jaffa Group claimed responsibility for both bombs. Five
Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
were arrested in London in January 1995 in connection with the bombings. In December 1996, two of them, both Palestinian science graduates educated in the UK, Jawad Botmeh and Samar Alami, were found guilty of "conspiracy to cause explosions" at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
. They were sentenced to 20 years in jail, and lost their appeal in 2001. Botmeh was released from prison in 2008. Former MI5 agent David Shayler stated that the British security services were warned of a plan to attack the embassy in advance, yet took no action. The Crown Prosecution Service later confirmed a warning had been received, though it related to a plan by a group unconnected to those who were convicted of the bombing. The Home Secretary at the time, Jack Straw, said that Shayler's interpretation of events was understandable, but concluded that MI5 still could not have prevented the bombing.


Convicted

Samar Alami, a Lebanese-Palestinian woman and daughter of a banker, graduated with a BSc in chemical engineering from University College London and an MSc from Imperial College London. Jawad Botmeh, a Palestinian student based in London, graduated with degrees in electronic engineering from the University of Leicester and
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
. Alami and Botmeh were convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions in the United Kingdom. During the trial Alami and Botmeh were accused of being part of a team that had planned the bombing but were not accused of planting the bomb themselves or being present at the scene of the crime. There was no direct evidence linking the suspects to the bombing. Another woman involved in carrying out the bombing has never been found. In the course of the trial, both suspects did admit that they had conducted experiments using home made
explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
s in order to pass information back to Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. Botmeh and Alami were convicted of the charges in December 1996, receiving 20-year sentences. Alami and Botmeh have maintained their innocence;
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
stated that Botmeh had been "denied isright to a fair trial". Numerous groups and individuals campaigned on behalf of the pair, including the government of Palestine, Amnesty International, Unison (Britain's largest trade union), human rights activist Gareth Peirce, investigative journalist Paul Foot, and Miscarriages of JusticeUK (MOJUK), Support for Alami and Botmeh's appeal attracted cross-party support in Parliament – five
early day motions In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by members of Parliament that formally calls for debate "on an early day". In practice, they are rarely debated in the House a ...
raised by John Austin MP were supported by a total of 71 Members of Parliament, including Labour Party MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell,
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
MPs Peter Bottomley and Robert Jackson, and Liberal Democrats Tom Brake and
Colin Breed Colin Edward Breed (born 4 May 1947 in Surrey) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cornwall from 1997 until he stood down at the 2010 general election. He was also member of the parliam ...
. Beyond the early day motions, further support for a review of the conviction by parliamentarians included Ian Gilmour, Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar and
Harry Cohen Harry Michael Cohen (born 10 December 1949) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leyton from 1983 to 1997 and Leyton and Wanstead from 1997 to 2010. Early life Cohen left the George Gascoigne Secon ...
. The pair's appeal against their convictions came to an end when their case was dismissed by the European Court of Human Rights in 2007. Upon review of the evidence, the court concluded that their right to a fair trial had not been infringed.Palestinian bombers appeal fails
BBC News (7 June 2007). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
Following Botmeh's release from prison in 2008 he found work as a researcher at the London Metropolitan University. He was suspended from work on 7 February 2013, having become an
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
for his trade union, Unison; they have pointed out that his suspension was related to his election as a staff representative, and that he had declared his conviction for involvement in two car bombs at the Israeli Embassy prior to appointment. His suspension was lifted in March 2015.


References


External links


Riddle of man behind Israeli embassy bomb
(by Robert Fisk), The Independent, 26 November 1998
New evidence suggests activists were framed
, The Daily Star, 24 March 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:London Israeli Embassy bombing, 1994 1994 in international relations London Embassy bombing Israeli Embassy bombing 1990s crimes in London 1990s trials 20th century in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Attacks on buildings and structures in 1994 Attacks on buildings and structures in London
Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...
Attacks on diplomatic missions of Israel Car and truck bombings in London Israel–United Kingdom relations Improvised explosive device bombings in 1994 Israeli Embassy bombing July 1994 crimes July 1994 events in the United Kingdom Palestinian terrorist incidents in Europe Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1994 Trials in London Building bombings in London