2002 Immanuel Bus Attack

By mid-2002, the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — was the scene of sustained terrorist violence during the Second Intifada. Israel had reoccupied parts of the territory in response to continuing attacks, and restrictions on Palestinian movement were in effect.[3] The July 16 assault was the first attack recorded since June 20, marking only a brief interruption in the violence.[3]

Immanuel, a Jewish community in Samaria, had already suffered a deadly attack on the same bus route on December 12, 2001, in which ten Israelis were killed.[2] A later listing assessed that the July 2002 attack was apparently carried out by the same Hamas cell responsible for the earlier assault.[1]

At approximately 14:40 on July 16, 2002, three or four terrorists reportedly dressed in Israeli army uniforms approached to within about 200 meters of the entrance to Immanuel.[2] As bullet-resistant Dan bus No. 189 traveled its regular route from Bnei Brak to Immanuel, the attackers detonated an explosive charge against the vehicle. They then opened fire on the bus and passengers who tried to escape, while gunfire and grenades also struck nearby vehicles, some of which overturned.[2]

Rescuers reported that most of the casualties inside the bus had been struck by gunfire rather than injured by the explosion alone. Firefighters worked for an extended period to extract people trapped in the vehicle.[2] Approximately 20 wounded people were transported to Beilinson, Meir, and Tel Hashomer hospitals; six were initially listed in serious condition and four in moderate condition.[4]

Ynet reported conflicting accounts about whether Magen David Adom had instructed rescuers not to enter without armored vehicles; an MDA spokesperson denied that such an instruction had been issued.[2] One wounded passenger later recalled that smoke filled the bus after the blast and that passengers lay on the floor reciting Psalms until soldiers arrived.[4]

The assailants fled on foot through difficult terrain toward Nablus. Israel Defense Forces units pursued them with helicopter support, and Brigadier General Yitzhak Gershon, commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, said that several Palestinians were detained for questioning.[2]

Nine people ultimately died as a result of the attack.[1] The seven victims initially identified were Keren Kashani, 29; Galila Ades, 42; Yonatan Gamliel, 16; Ilana Siton, 35; Gal Shilon, 32; his daughter Sarah Tiferet Shilon, eight months old; and Zilpa Kashi, 65, of Givatayim, Sarah Tiferet's grandmother.[1] Gal Shilon, Sarah Tiferet Shilon, and Zilpa Kashi represented three generations of one family.[2]

Two additional deaths were recorded after the initial seven. A premature infant delivered after the child's mother, Yehudit Weinberg, was seriously wounded died overnight. Yocheved Ben-Hanan, 21, of Immanuel, died on July 18 after being critically wounded in the attack.[1][4]

All of the listed victims except Zilpa Kashi were residents of Immanuel.[1]

Four terrorist organizations claimed responsibility: Hamas's military wing, Fatah's military wing, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[2] A later listing assessed that the attack was apparently carried out by the same Hamas cell responsible for the December 2001 Immanuel attack.[1] The Palestinian Authority issued a condemnation stating, “The Authority condemns harm to innocent civilians, Israelis or Palestinians.”[2]

Early on July 17, Israeli forces exchanged fire with terrorists identified as responsible for the attack. Lt. Elad Grenadier, 21, of Haifa, was killed and three other soldiers were wounded.[1]

An Anti-Defamation League account of an Israeli announcement made in 2002 said that Hussam Badran, identified as head of Hamas's military wing in the northern West Bank, had directed several attacks, including “the bus near Emmanuel.” The account does not date that listed attack, however, and therefore does not independently establish whether the reference was to the December 2001 ambush or the July 2002 attack.[5]

In 2022, Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV broadcast a reenactment that portrayed the July 2002 assault as a Hamas operation. The program included an account attributed to Abu Ahmad, described as a Hamas logistical-support officer.[6]

Contemporary and retrospective sources report slightly different casualty figures. Ynet's initial report listed seven dead and 16 wounded at the scene.[2] The Congressional Research Service subsequently recorded eight killed and 20 injured.[3] A later Jewish Virtual Library listing gives the final count as nine killed and 20 injured, while Israel Hayom's account of the Hamas reenactment reports nine killed and 16 wounded.[1][6]

At least part of the variation in the death toll reflects timing. The later listing includes the premature infant who died overnight and Yocheved Ben-Hanan, who died on July 18.[1][4] Despite the numerical differences, both the Congressional Research Service and the later listing describe the same July 16 bombing-and-shooting attack on a bus near Immanuel.[3][1]