The Kiryat Menachem bus bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on November 21, 2002 in a public bus in the neighborhood of Kiryat Menachem

Kiryat Menachem

Kiryat Menachem is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem, Israel, bordering Kiryat Hayovel. Kiryat Menachem was founded in 1956 to provide housing for the masses of new immigrants who arrived after the establishment of the State of Israel. The neighborhood is named for American Zionist leader Max...

 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...

. 11 people were killed in the attack and over 50 were injured.

The Palestinian Islamist militant organization 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...

 claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack

On November 21, 2002, at around 7:00 am, a Palestinian suicide bomber, wearing an explosives belt packed with five-kilograms of explosives and shrapnel

Shrapnel

Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried a large number of individual bullets close to the target and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually. They relied almost entirely on the shell's velocity for...

, boarded the public bus on Mexico Street in Jerusalem.

The suicide bomber detonated the explosives in the crowded bus, before the bus reached the next stop, while the bus was in the suburban neighborhood of Kiryat Menachem. 11 people were killed in the attack and over 50 were injured.

Fatalities

Hodaya Asraf, 13, of Jerusalem Marina Bazarski, 46, of Jerusalem Hadassah (Yelena) Ben-David, 32, of Jerusalem Sima Novak, 56, of Jerusalem Kira Perlman, 67, of Jerusalem Ilan Perlman, 8, of Jerusalem – Kira Perlman's grandson

Yafit Ravivo, 14 of Jerusalem Ella Sharshevsky, 44, of Jerusalem Michael Sharshevsky, 16, of Jerusalem – Ella Sharshevsky's son Mircea Varga, 25, 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... Dikla Zino, 22, of Jerusalem.

The perpetrators

Hamas took credit for the attack, which was carried out by Na'el Abu Hilail, 22, from el-Khader, just south of Bethlehem

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

.Four of the victims were children on their way to school.Abu Hilail's father said he was pleased with his son, saying "Our religion says we are proud of him until the day of resurrection." His friends said he was a supporter of Islamic Jihad

Islamic Jihad

Islamic Jihad may refer to:* Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine* Islamic Jihad Organization, active mostly in Lebanon* Islamic Jihad of Yemen* Turkish Islamic Jihad* Egyptian Islamic JihadSee also:* Islamic jihad, theological concept of jihad...

.

External links

• Bomb in Crowded Commuter Bus in Jerusalem Kills at Least 10 - The Washington Post
  The Washington Post
  The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
  
  , November 21, 2002
• Jerusalem suicide bombing kills 11 - The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  , November 21, 2002
• 4 Children Are Among Dead In Jerusalem Bus Bombing - published on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
  
  , November 22, 2002
• Jerusalem bus blast kills 11 - published on BBC News
  BBC News
  BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
  
  , November 21, 2002
• Suicide bomber kills 11 in Jerusalem - published on The Sun, November 22, 2002
• Bus Bomb Attack Kills 11 / Jerusalem blast injures 50; Sharon considering retaliation - published on Newsday
  Newsday
  Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
  
  , November 22, 2002
• Suicide bombing of No. 20 Egged bus in Kiryat Menahem, Jerusalem, November 21, 2002 - Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs