Allenby Street Bus Bombing

The attack took place against the backdrop of the Second Intifada, the sustained Palestinian terrorist campaign that began in 2000. One account of the 2000–2005 fighting reports that more than 25,000 attacks were launched against Israelis and nearly 750 people were killed, including 445 in suicide bombings.[1] A broader retrospective reports that approximately 1,100 Israelis were killed and more than 8,300 wounded during the Second Intifada, with the vast majority of casualties being non-combatant civilians.[2]

The bombing struck a crowded Dan Route 4 bus as it traveled through Tel Aviv's business district during the lunchtime period. Security forces were on high alert but had no known specific warning of an attack planned in Tel Aviv that day.[1][3]

Shortly before 13:00 on September 19, 2002, a suicide bomber boarded Route 4 and activated his explosive belt as the bus began moving along Allenby Street, in front of the Great Synagogue.[1][4] The explosion tore through the front of the vehicle and badly damaged it. Eyewitnesses described passengers jumping from the bus windows and screaming, while residents and passersby rushed to help the wounded.[3]

The attack killed six people and wounded approximately 70 others, with around ten initially reported in serious condition.[1][3] A 2003 court-case report placed the injury toll at 84.[4] Hamas claimed responsibility, with senior Hamas figure Ismail Abu Shanab describing the bombing as part of a series of responses to what he called "Israeli crimes."[3] Hamas political leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi declared, "The martyr operations will continue against the Zionists," adding, "We are defending our people. The resistance will escalate."[1] The Jewish Virtual Library article reports that Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, while its separate casualty listing attributes the claim to Hamas alone.[1][5]

The six people killed in the bombing were Solomon Hoenig, 79, of Tel Aviv; Yossi Mamistavlov, 39, of Or Yehuda, who was the bus driver; Yaffa Shemtov, 49, of Tel Aviv; Rosanna Siso, 63, of Gan Yavneh; Ofer Zinger, 29, of Moshav Pazael; and Jonathan (Yoni) Jesner, 19, of Glasgow, Scotland.[5][3]

Israeli authorities identified the suicide bomber as Iyad Na'im Subhi Radad, 23, a Ramallah resident of Jordanian extraction who had arrived in Israel in July 2000.[6] The Israeli government document outlining the attack's planning describes a recruitment sequence that began two days before the bombing, when Mahmoud Hamad Mahmoud Shraytakh, identified as a Hamas student-wing activist, recruited Radad in Ramallah, brought him to an apartment in Jerusalem, photographed him, and equipped him with an explosive belt.[6]

Ashraf Zghair, whose surname is also rendered as Zughayer or Zaier, then drove Radad to Allenby Street and instructed him to choose a crowded target and detonate on a bus.[6][4] Court proceedings reported that Zghair had joined Hamas in mid-2002 and acted on instructions from his handler, Mahmoud Sharita, also known as Abu-Bakr. He had scouted attack locations, rented a flat in northern Jerusalem to house suicide bombers before operations, and selected busy Allenby Street as a suitable target.[4]

On the day of the attack, Zghair met Radad, took him to the Jerusalem flat to be filmed wearing the explosive belt, and then drove him to Allenby Street, directing him to detonate in a crowded place. Radad boarded Route 4 shortly before 13:00 and activated the belt as the bus began moving.[4] Approximately one month later, Zghair transported another bomber to a Tel Aviv seaside restaurant, but guards became suspicious and stopped the attack. Zghair was arrested two days after a further planned operation was assigned to him.[4]

A Jewish News report gives a partly differing account, naming the bomber as Muhammad al-Ghoul and describing Zughayer as having driven him from East Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.[7] The Israeli government document and the 2003 Ynet court report instead name Iyad Radad as the perpetrator.[6][4]

Following the bombing, Israel launched a military operation in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria. Tanks and armored vehicles began a siege on Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah that the Jewish Virtual Library reports continued for nearly two years.[1]

International reaction was swift but divided. U.S. President George W. Bush condemned the attack, stating, "All parties must do everything they can to reject and stop violence."[1] European Union officials called on Israel to show restraint, warning that a harsh Israeli reprisal could undermine efforts to reform the Palestinian Authority and secure a ceasefire.[1]

In 2003, the Jerusalem District Court sentenced Ashraf Zaier to six life sentences after he admitted to his role in transporting the bomber. He was convicted of six counts of murder, attempted murder, and aiding the enemy during wartime.[4]

Casualty figures differ among reports. The contemporaneous Ynet account initially recorded five dead and about 60 wounded.[3] The Jewish Virtual Library and Jerusalem Post accounts give six killed and approximately 70 wounded.[1][2] The 2003 court-case report gives six killed and 84 wounded.[4]

The identity of the suicide bomber also differs between sources. The Israeli government document and the court-case report name Iyad Na'im Subhi Radad.[6][4] A Jewish News account instead names Muhammad al-Ghoul.[7]

A 2012 Ynet retrospective said the bombing occurred in August 2002 after 45 days of relative calm.[8] The Jewish Virtual Library and Maariv records date the attack to September 19, 2002.[1][9]