Kedumim Bombing

Four suicide bombings were carried out in 2006, down from seven in 2005 and fourteen in 2004.[6] Across the four attacks in 2006, fifteen people were killed and 104 were wounded.[6]

The bomber had been a wanted fugitive sought by the Israel Defense Forces before the attack.[6] Israeli security reporting also placed the bombing within contacts between Palestinian terrorist cells and Hezbollah. An Israel Security Agency review identified Nablus-based Tanzim activists who received funds and instructions from Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, while a later operational report attributed Hezbollah financing and direction to Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members connected with the attack.[7][3]

On March 30, 2006, a terrorist disguised as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man obtained a ride and detonated an explosive device inside the vehicle near the entrance to Kedumim.[1][2] The four Israeli occupants—a married couple, a young woman and a teenager—were killed, as was the bomber.[2][3]

Authorities estimated that the bomber carried a bag containing approximately ten kilograms of explosive material.[3] The blast completely burned the vehicle.[3] It occurred near a petrol station at the junction leading to Kedumim, south of Nablus.[4][2]

The victims were Rafi and Helena Halevy, veteran residents of Kedumim; Re'ut Feldman, 20, a national-service volunteer from Herzliya; and Shaked Lasker, 16, of Kedumim.[1][3] The Times of Israel later identified Rafi and Helena Halevy as the parents of Naama Zoref.[8]

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a terrorist organization affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for the bombing.[4][5] An IDF assessment reported at the time suggested that it may have been a joint Fatah–Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine operation. An Al-Aqsa Brigades figure described it as a "brilliant diversion action."[2]

A Palestinian Media Watch report reproduced a March 30, 2013 post from Fatah's official Facebook page identifying the bomber as Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed Al-Masharqa, also referred to as Ahmed Masharqa.[9] The post gives his date of birth as July 24, 1982, and his birthplace as al-Burj village in the Dura sub-district. It also states that he joined Fatah in 2000 and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades during the al-Aqsa Intifada.[9] These biographical details derive from the Fatah post rather than independent verification by the report.

A subsequent Israeli security operation identified Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades member Hani Hashash as having dispatched the bomber from the Qalqilya area.[3] Hashash and fellow Brigades member Ibrahim Niva Abu Nif were killed during a joint Israeli police, Shin Bet and IDF operation in the Balata refugee camp.[3] Israeli security officials alleged that the men had operated with Hezbollah financing and direction.[3] The Israel Security Agency review similarly described the attack as having been conducted by Tanzim activists from Nablus who received funds and instructions from Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon.[7]

A Jerusalem Post opinion article identified Murad Muhammad Ridha Ahmad Abu al-Rub as having a role in the bombing and said he was supposed to be serving four life sentences, but it did not specify his precise role.[10]

Two people arrested in connection with the bombing were reportedly among those considered for release in the 2011 prisoner exchange that secured the return of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, although the report did not disclose their names.[8]

Seven years after the attack, Fatah's official Facebook page commemorated Ahmed Al-Masharqa as a hero, according to a Palestinian Media Watch report prepared for Canadian parliamentarians examining Palestinian Authority glorification of terrorists and Western funding.[9] Reacting to the bombing in 2006, the Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister said Hamas would never object to Palestinians' "self-defense" while they remained under occupation.[5]

The principal casualty accounts record four Israeli deaths. The U.S. Department of State and Congressional Research Service each give that total.[4][5] The Jewish Virtual Library victim listing and Palestinian Media Watch's own description also give four.[1][9] However, the Fatah Facebook post reproduced by Palestinian Media Watch claims that the bomber caused the death of "five Zionists and wounded many." Palestinian Media Watch does not adopt that figure and immediately identifies Masharqa as having killed four Israelis.[9]

The precise date is reported inconsistently. The Jewish Virtual Library victim listing and Ynet date the attack to March 30, 2006.[1][2] The State Department report and the Jewish Virtual Library page reproducing it give March 29.[4][11] The Congressional Research Service states that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility on March 30, wording that dates the claim without clearly resolving the attack date.[5] The Israel Security Agency review specifies only March 2006.[7]

Sources also differ in their emphasis when describing responsibility. The State Department and Congressional Research Service report the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades' claim of responsibility.[4][5] Ynet records the same claim but also reports an IDF assessment of possible joint Fatah–PFLP involvement.[2] The Israel Security Agency review characterizes the perpetrators as Hezbollah-directed Tanzim activists, while a later Ynet report identifies Al-Aqsa members and cites Israeli allegations of Hezbollah financing and direction.[7][3]