Mothers' Bus attack
Encyclopedia
The Mothers’ Bus attack refers to the 1988 hijacking of an Israeli
civilian bus carrying workers to the Negev Nuclear Research Center
. Three Arab militants took 11 passengers hostage and executed two women. The bus was then stormed by Yamam
, Israel's elite counter-terrorism
unit. In the 40-second takeover operation, all three hijackers were killed, along with one of the hostages.
The incident was named the "mothers' bus attack" because many of the passengers were working mothers.
infiltrated the border between Israel and Egypt
near Ramat Nafha, a desert terrain west of Mitzpe Ramon
. They were armed with AK-47
rifles, a Carl Gustav M/45
submachine gun and hand grenades. At around 6:30 am, they opened fire on a white Renault
carrying four unarmed soldiers heading north to a physical training exercise. The soldiers fled on foot and the gunmen commandeered their car, and drove it north in the direction of Sde Boker
, then west onto the highway connecting Beersheba
with Dimona
.
As they drove westward, the soldiers whose car was commandeered alerted the authorities, and roadblocks were set up by the police on the anticipated route. At around 7:15 am, the gunmen crashed through a police roadblock near the Dimona–Yeruham
junction, and began firing indiscriminately, with the police in pursuit. They shot at a mini-van carrying four schoolteachers, whose passengers managed to escape after their driver accelerated toward the gunmen. They also fired at a semi-trailer which was stopped on the highway by the shooting. At around 8:00 am, a bus carrying workers to their jobs at the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona arrived at the scene, near the hilltop Bedouin village of Aroer. When the hijackers opened fire on the bus, the driver opened the door and some passengers managed to escape on foot. The hijackers took over the bus with 11 passengers still on board, including ten women and a man who had been unable to escape.
By that time, Israeli police and Army units surrounded the site, and Haim Benayoun, commander of the Negev police region, began negotiating with the hijackers. One of the first units on site was the Yamam, the Israeli police's elite counter-terrorism unit, which arrived before Sayeret Matkal
, the IDF
's elite counter terrorism unit, whose helicopters had been given erroneous information regarding the location of the incident. All Army and police units came under the command of Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai
. The hijackers demanded the release of all PLO prisoners incarcerated as a result of the uprising in the occupied territories, and set a 30 minute ultimatum to see a representative of the Red Cross
, or they would start executing hostages. Yamam officers collected valuable information regarding the number of hijackers and their position inside the bus from the bus passengers who managed to escape. The Yamam placed snipers around the bus, and tracked movements in it with binoculars. Based on the intelligence collected and the surveillance information, the Yamam’s commander, Alik Ron, prepared an assault plan.
As the 30 minutes drew to a close, the gunmen began shooting out the bus windows, and tossed a grenade which failed to explode at the security forces surrounding the bus. Shortly thereafter, at 10:25 am, they executed the male hostage, Victor Ram, a 39-year old father of three, shooting him in the chest, and one of the women, Miriam Ben-Yair, 46, a mother of four.At that point, Mordechai gave the order to the Yamam to storm the bus. Yamam snipers opened fire, while Yamam fighters breached the bus's windows and doors from 3 directions, tossing stun grenade
s to disorient the hijackers. In 30-40 seconds they took over the bus, killing all three hijackers, but not before the hijackers managed to kill another hostage – Rina Shiratky, 31, a mother of two. Eight other hostages were lightly wounded.
, which up to that point was known as a popular uprising primarily involving civil disobedience, mass protests, demonstrations, rioting and limited violence.
The Israeli government pointed to the incident as proof that the Intifada is a violent, anti-civilian terrorist campaign. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir
was quoted as saying "The terrorists try to attack us daily. These are the same individuals who are inciting disturbances in the territories", and then-Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin
described the incident as part of a major PLO effort to show that terrorism remains the principal means by which its political goals will be achieved.
Palestinian leaders feared they would lose world sympathy for the Intifada, which until that point was viewed as a popular nationalist uprising conducted by civilians. Sari Nusseibeh
called the hijacking a "deplorable act", and said "It's very worrying, because the whole point of the thing is to have a so-called white revolution in which people don't use any arms."
It was also the first time that Yamam, established in 1974 for these kind of missions, was called in instead of Sayeret Matkal
, the Israeli Army's counter-terrorism unit. For many years, there had been a preference to utilize the latter, brought about by the fact that many key decision makers in top security and political positions in the Israeli government were former Sayeret Matkal officers, with loyalty to that unit.
It has been described as one of the most complicated rescue missions in Israel's history, with attackers who were better armed and more determined than their predecessors. It has since become a benchmark for counter-terrorism hostage rescue missions.
Israeli intelligence concluded that the hijacking of the bus had been planned and ordered by PLO military leader Khalil al-Wazir, and as a response, it is believed that they recommended a complex operation to assassinate him at his home in Tunis, carried out a few weeks later.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
civilian bus carrying workers to the Negev Nuclear Research Center
Negev Nuclear Research Center
The Negev Nuclear Research Center is an Israeli nuclear installation located in the Negev desert, about thirteen kilometers to the south-east of the city of Dimona. The purpose of Dimona is widely assumed to be the manufacturing of nuclear weapons, and the majority of defense experts have...
. Three Arab militants took 11 passengers hostage and executed two women. The bus was then stormed by Yamam
Yamam
The Yamam ) is an elite Border police, not civilian Police counter-terrorism unit in Israel. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids against targets in civilian areas...
, Israel's elite counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
unit. In the 40-second takeover operation, all three hijackers were killed, along with one of the hostages.
The incident was named the "mothers' bus attack" because many of the passengers were working mothers.
The attack
During the night of Monday, March 7, 1988, three armed members of the Palestine Liberation OrganizationPalestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
infiltrated the border between Israel and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
near Ramat Nafha, a desert terrain west of Mitzpe Ramon
Mitzpe Ramon
Mitzpe Ramon is a town in the Negev desert of southern Israel. It is situated on the northern ridge at an elevation of 860 meters overlooking a sizable erosion cirque known as the Ramon Crater.-History:...
. They were armed with AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
rifles, a Carl Gustav M/45
Carl Gustav M/45
Kulsprutepistol m/45 , also known as the Carl Gustav M/45 and the Swedish K SMG, is a 9 mm Swedish submachine gun designed by Gunnar Johnsson, adopted in 1945 , and manufactured at the Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori in Eskilstuna, Sweden. The m/45 was the standard submachine gun of the...
submachine gun and hand grenades. At around 6:30 am, they opened fire on a white Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
carrying four unarmed soldiers heading north to a physical training exercise. The soldiers fled on foot and the gunmen commandeered their car, and drove it north in the direction of Sde Boker
Sde Boker
Sde Boker is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council.-History:...
, then west onto the highway connecting Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
with Dimona
Dimona
Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. Its population at the end of 2007 was 33,600.-History:...
.
As they drove westward, the soldiers whose car was commandeered alerted the authorities, and roadblocks were set up by the police on the anticipated route. At around 7:15 am, the gunmen crashed through a police roadblock near the Dimona–Yeruham
Yeruham
Yeruham is a town in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers 38,584 dunams and had a population of 9,400 in 2006. It is named after the Biblical Jeroham. The mayor of Yeruham was Amram Mitzna but his term ended in early 2011, and he was succeeded by Michael Bitton of...
junction, and began firing indiscriminately, with the police in pursuit. They shot at a mini-van carrying four schoolteachers, whose passengers managed to escape after their driver accelerated toward the gunmen. They also fired at a semi-trailer which was stopped on the highway by the shooting. At around 8:00 am, a bus carrying workers to their jobs at the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona arrived at the scene, near the hilltop Bedouin village of Aroer. When the hijackers opened fire on the bus, the driver opened the door and some passengers managed to escape on foot. The hijackers took over the bus with 11 passengers still on board, including ten women and a man who had been unable to escape.
By that time, Israeli police and Army units surrounded the site, and Haim Benayoun, commander of the Negev police region, began negotiating with the hijackers. One of the first units on site was the Yamam, the Israeli police's elite counter-terrorism unit, which arrived before Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal is a special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces , which is subordinated to the intelligence directorate Aman. First and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines to obtain strategic intelligence, Sayeret Matkal is also...
, the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
's elite counter terrorism unit, whose helicopters had been given erroneous information regarding the location of the incident. All Army and police units came under the command of Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai
Yitzhak Mordechai
Yitzhak Mordechai is an Israeli former general and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1996 and 2001, and as Minister of Defense and Minister of Transport. He retired from political life after being indicted for sexual assaults during his military service and later...
. The hijackers demanded the release of all PLO prisoners incarcerated as a result of the uprising in the occupied territories, and set a 30 minute ultimatum to see a representative of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, or they would start executing hostages. Yamam officers collected valuable information regarding the number of hijackers and their position inside the bus from the bus passengers who managed to escape. The Yamam placed snipers around the bus, and tracked movements in it with binoculars. Based on the intelligence collected and the surveillance information, the Yamam’s commander, Alik Ron, prepared an assault plan.
As the 30 minutes drew to a close, the gunmen began shooting out the bus windows, and tossed a grenade which failed to explode at the security forces surrounding the bus. Shortly thereafter, at 10:25 am, they executed the male hostage, Victor Ram, a 39-year old father of three, shooting him in the chest, and one of the women, Miriam Ben-Yair, 46, a mother of four.At that point, Mordechai gave the order to the Yamam to storm the bus. Yamam snipers opened fire, while Yamam fighters breached the bus's windows and doors from 3 directions, tossing stun grenade
Stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade or a flashbang, is a non-lethal weapon. The first devices like this were created in the 1960s at the order of the British Special Air Service as an incapacitant....
s to disorient the hijackers. In 30-40 seconds they took over the bus, killing all three hijackers, but not before the hijackers managed to kill another hostage – Rina Shiratky, 31, a mother of two. Eight other hostages were lightly wounded.
Aftermath
The event is notable as the first example of classical terrorist tactics against Israeli civilians during the First IntifadaFirst Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
, which up to that point was known as a popular uprising primarily involving civil disobedience, mass protests, demonstrations, rioting and limited violence.
The Israeli government pointed to the incident as proof that the Intifada is a violent, anti-civilian terrorist campaign. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir
' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
was quoted as saying "The terrorists try to attack us daily. These are the same individuals who are inciting disturbances in the territories", and then-Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
described the incident as part of a major PLO effort to show that terrorism remains the principal means by which its political goals will be achieved.
Palestinian leaders feared they would lose world sympathy for the Intifada, which until that point was viewed as a popular nationalist uprising conducted by civilians. Sari Nusseibeh
Sari Nusseibeh
Sari Nusseibeh , and raised in Jerusalem, is a Palestinian professor of philosophy and president of the Al-Quds University in Jerusalem...
called the hijacking a "deplorable act", and said "It's very worrying, because the whole point of the thing is to have a so-called white revolution in which people don't use any arms."
It was also the first time that Yamam, established in 1974 for these kind of missions, was called in instead of Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal is a special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces , which is subordinated to the intelligence directorate Aman. First and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines to obtain strategic intelligence, Sayeret Matkal is also...
, the Israeli Army's counter-terrorism unit. For many years, there had been a preference to utilize the latter, brought about by the fact that many key decision makers in top security and political positions in the Israeli government were former Sayeret Matkal officers, with loyalty to that unit.
It has been described as one of the most complicated rescue missions in Israel's history, with attackers who were better armed and more determined than their predecessors. It has since become a benchmark for counter-terrorism hostage rescue missions.
Israeli intelligence concluded that the hijacking of the bus had been planned and ordered by PLO military leader Khalil al-Wazir, and as a response, it is believed that they recommended a complex operation to assassinate him at his home in Tunis, carried out a few weeks later.