The Jaffa Road bus bombings were attacks on two No. 18 buses in Jerusalem, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 in 1996. 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...

 suicide bombers

Suicide Bombers

Suicide Bombers is the name of a 2005 EP by Leæther Strip. For the Australian hardcore band see Suicide Bombers -Track listing:# Suicide Bombers# Suicide Bombers # The Shame Of A Nation # This Is Where I Wanna Be...

 killed 45 people in the attacks,which were masterminded by Mohammed Deif

Mohammed Deif

Mohammed Deif Born in 1960, is a commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He gained that position after Israel killed Salah Shehade in July, 2002. Israel suspects him of being a bombmaker and holds him personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians...

, using explosives prepared by Adnan Awul.

First bombing

On the morning of February 25, 1996, a suicide bomber blew himself up on a No.18 bus traveling down Jaffa Road

Jaffa Road

Jaffa Road is one of the longest and oldest streets in Jerusalem. It crosses the city from east to west, from the Old City walls to downtown Jerusalem, the western portal of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway. It is lined with shops, businesses and restaurants...

 near the Jerusalem Central Bus Station

Jerusalem Central Bus Station

The Jerusalem Central Bus Station is the main bus depot in Jerusalem, Israel and one of the busiest bus stations in the country. Located on Jaffa Road near the entrance to the city, it serves Egged, Superbus and Dan intercity bus routes...

. 17 civilians and 9 Israeli soldiers were killed and 48, mostly civilians, injured.

The victims:

Civilians: Daniel Biton, 42 Yitzhak Elbaz, 57 Boris Sharpolinsky, 64 Semion Trakashvili, 60 Yitzhak Yakhnis, 54 Peretz Gantz, 61 Anatoly Kushnirov, 36 Anatoly Kushnirov, 37 Masuda Amar, 59 Swietlana Gelezniak, 32 Celine Zaguri, 19 Navon Shabo, 22, of Bnei Brak Michael Yerigin, 16, of Kibbutz Kibbutz A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...  Maabarot Maabarot Ma'abarot is a kibbutz in Israel. Founded in 1932, today it has a population of approximately 850 people, and is under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council.-Beginnings :...

Matthew Eisenfeld, 25 of the United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... Sara Duker, 23, of the United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... Wael Kawasmeh, 23, of East Jerusalem, later died of his wounds Ira Yitzhak Weinstein, 53, of Maaleh Adumim, later died of his wounds Soldiers: Sgt. Yonatan Barnea, 20 St-Sgt. Gavriel Krauss, 24 St.-Sgt. Gadi Shiloni, 22 Cpl. Moshe Reuven, 19 St.-Sgt. Maj. (res.) Arye Barashi, 39 Cpl. Iliya Nimotin, 19 Cpl. Merav Nahum, 19 Sgt. Sharon Hanuka, 19; Arik Gaby, 16 (student in pre-army boarding school) - all of Jerusalem.

Second bombing

On the morning of March 3, 1996, a suicide bomber boarded another No. 18 bus, detonating an explosive belt that killed 16 civilians and three Israeli soldiers and wounded 7.

The victims:

Civilians: Maya Birkan, 59 Naima Zargary, 66 Gavriel Shamashvili, 43 Shemtov Sheikh, 63 Anna Shingeloff, 36 Raya Daushvili, 55 George Yonan, 38 - all of Jerusalem; Angel al-Syriani, 45, of Beit Jalla Gidi Taspanish, 23, a tourist from Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2... Valerian Krasyon, 44, a tourist from Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

Dominic Lunca, 29 Daniel Patenka, 33 Marian Grefan, 40 Mirce Gifa, 39 Dimitru Kokarascu, 43 - all Romanian workers. Imar Ambrose, 51, of Romania, died on March 9. Soldiers: Sgt. Yoni Levy, 21, of Jerusalem Sgt. Haim Amedi, 19, of Jerusalem Senior NCO Uzi Cohen, 54, border policeman of Jerusalem.

Wave of attacks

These two bombings, within a few days of each other, occurred during a wave of attacks that included the French Hill

French Hill attacks

French Hill attacks refer to numerous attacks by Palestinians near the Jerusalem neighborhood of the French Hill, a Jewish neighborhood in north-central Jerusalem. It is located in territory captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967...

 neighborhood attack, a suicide bombing in Ashkelon

Ashkelon

Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...

 and a terrorist attack near Dizengoff centre 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 large number of Israeli civilians and soldiers killed (more than 60 in total) had a major impact on the Israeli public and is said to have influenced the elections in May. The attacks also coincided with the holiday of Purim

Purim

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...

: The second bus 18 attack took place a day before Purim as celebrated in most of the world (in Jerusalem Purim is a day later), and the Dizengoff bombing on the eve of the holiday.

Legal action

The families of United States victims Matthew Eisenfeld and Sarah Duker sued Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 for backing the attack, and won a US$327 million judgment in 2000. The Clinton Administration then blocked the families' efforts to seize certain Iranian assets in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of 2006 collection efforts continue through legal process. The families, together with the family of another United States citizen killed in the same attack, now seek as much as US$900 million from Iran. In 2006 an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 court domesticated the US court ruling, and temporarily froze Iranian assets. The plaintiffs have stated that they intend to pursue Iran through other European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

courts.

External links

• Fatal Terrorist Attacks in Israel Since the DOP (Sept 1993)