Café Apropo bombing
Encyclopedia
The Café Apropo bombing was a Palestinian suicide bombing which occurred on March 21, 1997 in a coffee shop
in Tel Aviv
. 3 women were killed in the attack and 48 were injured.
holiday, at around 13:40, when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated an explosive device which was concealed in a handbag in the entrance to the coffee shop
"Apropo" in Tel Aviv
. The force of the explosion killed three young women in their early 30s, one of them was three months pregnant.
Following the attack, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate found for the first time clear evidence which proved that the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
was encouraging and initiating militant attacks on Israeli civilians within Israel in order to advance the negotiations with Israel.
Eight years after the attack, in October 2005, Israel captured the Palestinian militant Ibrahim Animat, the leader of Hamas
's "Surif squad", which was responsible for the 1997 Café Apropo bombing attack, as well as other attacks against Israeli targets.
A monument has been placed near the site of the attack which was created by the artist Eliezer Weishoff. The monument depicts three roses which were cut off.
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. 3 women were killed in the attack and 48 were injured.
The attack
The attack occurred on a Friday, on the eve of the PurimPurim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
holiday, at around 13:40, when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated an explosive device which was concealed in a handbag in the entrance to the coffee shop
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
"Apropo" in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. The force of the explosion killed three young women in their early 30s, one of them was three months pregnant.
Fatalities
The following people died in the attack:- Michal Avrahami, 32
- Yael Gilad, 32
- Anat Winter-Rosen, 32
Aftermath
The attack remembered amongst the Israeli public, in part, due to a picture taken of a six months old infant girl in a clown costume whom survived the attack because she was saved by her mother whom protected her with her body from the force of the blast.Following the attack, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate found for the first time clear evidence which proved that the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
was encouraging and initiating militant attacks on Israeli civilians within Israel in order to advance the negotiations with Israel.
Eight years after the attack, in October 2005, Israel captured the Palestinian militant Ibrahim Animat, the leader of Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
's "Surif squad", which was responsible for the 1997 Café Apropo bombing attack, as well as other attacks against Israeli targets.
A monument has been placed near the site of the attack which was created by the artist Eliezer Weishoff. The monument depicts three roses which were cut off.
External links
- Apropo Cafe Bombing Memorial - Israel Public Art Catalog
- Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing Kills Four - published on Times Daily on Mar 22, 1997
- Senior Hamas fugitive nabbed - published on YnetYnetYnet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
on October 11, 2005