July 2005 HaSharon Mall Suicide Bombing

The attack occurred after a "period of calm" was agreed in February 2005. Palestinian terrorist organizations nevertheless continued attacks in Israel, the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — and Gaza, using tactics that included suicide bombs, rockets, mortars, roadside bombs, ambushes, and shootings.[1]

The HaSharon Mall had previously been attacked on May 18, 2001, when a Hamas suicide bombing killed five people and wounded about 100.[2] On July 12, 2005, a local festival and events connected to the Maccabiah games had led police to establish an unusually large presence in Netanya.[2]

On the evening of July 12, 2005, an 18-year-old from Atil, north of Tulkarm, detonated an explosive belt on the pedestrian crossing on the southern side of the intersection of Herzl and Petah Tikva streets, outside the HaSharon Mall. An initial report identified him as Ahmad Abu-Khalil, while a later report on the Shin Bet and police investigation named him Ahmad Gawi.[2][3] The approximately 10-kilogram belt contained nails and iron balls intended to cause fragmentation injuries.[2]

A government-hosted survey assessed that the bomber had probably intended to detonate inside the mall but changed course, probably because of security at the entrance.[4] Sharon District police commander Menashe Arviv separately assessed that the bomber may have detonated at the crossing after noticing the large police deployment in Netanya.[2] The blast damaged vehicles and shattered the mall's entrance windows, while bomb-disposal teams searched the scene and the bomber's remains for additional explosives.[2]

Police raised alert levels throughout Israel, closed roads into and out of Netanya, and used helicopter support while searching for a suspected driver who had fled the area.[2]

Five Israeli civilians were killed: Rachel Ben Abu, 16, and Nofar Horowitz, 16, both from Tel Aviv; Julia Voloshin, 31, Anya Lifshitz, 50, and Cpl. Moshe Maor Jan, 21, all from Netanya. Ben Abu, Horowitz, and Voloshin were killed in the bombing; Lifshitz died of her wounds on July 13, and Jan died on July 14.[5]

Sources give different totals for the wounded. A U.S. Department of State report recorded about 90, while the Congressional Research Service reported more than 90.[6][7] An August account of the investigation gave a total of 88 wounded.[3] A government-hosted survey estimated about 40, while a diplomatic cable reported that 91 people sought medical treatment, including at least six who were severely wounded.[4][8]

The bombing was planned and executed by the Tulkarm branch of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the attack.[9] Israeli officials believed that Tulkarm-area PIJ commander Louay Saadi was behind the operation; his cell operated in Atil, Ilar, Saida, and the surrounding area.[8]

According to the Shin Bet and police investigation reported at the time, PIJ operative Nidal Abu-Saadeh promised the bomber's handler, Asaf Zaharan of Ilar, $10,000 about one month before the attack to infiltrate a suicide bomber into Israel. Abu-Saadeh supplied Zaharan with a forged Israeli identity card and a black bag used to conceal the explosive device, and directed Zaharan and the bomber toward Netanya.[3]

The same investigation stated that Israeli citizens Kfir Levy and Sif Azam transported Zaharan and the bomber through the Tzofin checkpoint and toward Tayibe. Levy's Jewish identity enabled the vehicle to pass without inspection, while Azam drove ahead and warned of checkpoints; the men had regularly transported Palestinians without permits.[3] Abd al-Rahman Abu-Moch then collected Zaharan and the bomber in Tayibe and drove them to Netanya. Abu-Moch said he became suspicious during the journey but continued driving; after hearing the explosion, he took Zaharan to Baqa al-Gharbiyye and discarded a larger bag left in his car.[3]

After the bombing, Israeli forces launched operations against Palestinian Islamic Jihad, reoccupied Tulkarem, and closed the West Bank.[7] The attack demonstrated that terrorist operations continued despite the informal calm declared earlier in 2005.

The bombing occurred amid an overall decline in Israeli terrorism fatalities. Israeli deaths in terrorist attacks fell from 117 in 2004 to 45 in 2005, although security officials assessed that the motivation to attack Israeli targets had not diminished. The July 12 bombing was attributed specifically to the Islamic Jihad infrastructure in Tulkarm.[10]

Kfir Levy, Sif Azam, and Abed Abu-Moch were convicted in connection with transporting the bomber and his escort. Each was convicted of five counts of manslaughter and 30 counts of causing severe injury.[9] When indicted in August 2005, they were identified as a 25-year-old from Ramat Gan, a 33-year-old from Tayibe, and a 24-year-old from Baqa al-Gharbiyye. All three maintained that they had not known they were transporting terrorists, and Levy's lawyer denied that his client knew a bombing was planned.[3]

The court found that the men had disregarded suspicions about the bomber and his companion. One bag displayed to them contained clothes, while the bomber described the second bag—the one containing the explosive device—as holding tools for breaking into cars.[9] Prosecutor Orli Ben-Ari said the ruling established a need for "excess care, not a policy of deliberate blindness."[9] A U.S. Department of State report recorded that the three men were subsequently sentenced to 13 years in prison.[11]

Sources render the bomber's name differently. The initial report identified him as Ahmad Abu-Khalil, while a later account of the investigation used Ahmad Gawi.[2][3] A government-hosted survey named him Ahmed Sami Abu Khalil, although a photograph caption in the same document shortened the name to Ahmed Sami Khalil.[4]

The injury figures also vary according to the source and apparent method of counting. Published totals include about 40, 88, about 90, more than 90, and 91 people who sought medical treatment.[4][3] The State Department and Congressional Research Service figures fall at the higher end of this range.[6][7] The apparent variation in early death tolls reflects the timing of reports: three victims died in the immediate bombing, followed by Lifshitz on July 13 and Jan on July 14, bringing the final total to five.[5]

Later Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs commentaries use the HaSharon or Sharon Mall name for a distinct bombing on May 18, 2001. One article says Abbas Al-Sayed was convicted in September 2005 in connection with that attack and the 2002 Park Hotel bombing; another describes him as a Hamas terrorist mastermind, gives the 2001 mall toll as five murdered and 74 injured, and says he was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to 35 consecutive life terms.[12][13] Those accounts concern the earlier Hamas attack, not the July 2005 PIJ bombing.