Ramat Gan Bus Bombing (1995)

The Ramat Gan bombing occurred amid a wave of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians in the mid-1990s. Bus and public-place bombings between 1994 and 1996 killed nearly 100 Israelis. Access to employment inside Israel continued to be curtailed after several attacks during the period, though the source does not attribute a specific policy change solely to the Ramat Gan bombing.[5]

Following the bombing, Sheikh Kamal Khatib attributed the attack to Palestinians' growing despair over what he described as the negative results of the peace process, including the prolonged closure of the territories and Israel's rigid negotiating position.[7] This was Khatib's interpretation as reported in a Washington Institute study, not an independently established account of the bomber's motive.

On July 24, 1995, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device aboard bus No. 20 near the Bourse on Abba Hillel Street in Ramat Gan.[1][2] The bomber was identified as Labib Azam, who blew himself up aboard the bus near Elite Junction.[8]

Six civilians were killed.[5][9] The victims were Moshe Shkedi, 75, of Ramat Gan; Rahel Tamari, 65, of Tel Aviv; Zviya Cohen, 62, of Tel Aviv; Zahava Oren, 60, of Tel Aviv; Nehama Lubowitz, 61, of Tel Aviv; and Mordechai Tovia, 37, of Tel Aviv.[6] Reports of the number wounded range from 28 to 33.[4][3]

Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing.[10] One report linked the explosives used in the attack to Yahya Ayyash, the Hamas bomb-maker known as “the engineer,” who led the Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[4]

The bombing formed part of the broader wave of attacks after which Palestinian access to employment inside Israel continued to be curtailed. The available source discusses the cumulative effect of several attacks rather than attributing the restrictions to the Ramat Gan bombing alone.[5]

Ynet described Abdel Majid Dudin, head of Hamas's military wing in the South Mount Hebron region, as responsible for deadly attacks that included bus bombings in Ramat Gan and Jerusalem, while also describing his direct involvement in attacks as alleged.[11] Dudin had evaded arrest for approximately fourteen years.[11][12] In May 2009, a special Israeli police unit killed him in a gunfight near Dura during an operation to arrest him. No casualties were reported among Israeli forces, and several local residents were reportedly arrested.[11] Hamas's military wing vowed revenge, with spokesman Abu Obeida stating: “We will respond in a fitting fashion and decide on the character of the response inside the West Bank.”[11]

Abd al-Nasser Issa, a Hamas terrorist and member of its military wing, was sentenced to two life terms and an additional seven years for involvement in attacks that included the Ramat Gan bombing.[2]

Sources consistently place the attack on July 24, 1995, and most report six civilian fatalities.[5][9] Ynet reported five Israelis killed and 32 injured.[8] Palestinian Media Watch reported six killed and 33 wounded, while a Jewish Virtual Library listing reported six killed and 31 wounded.[4][10] Another Jewish Virtual Library timeline gave the toll as six killed and 28 injured.[3]

That timeline places the attack in Tel Aviv, although Israeli government and Ynet records identify Ramat Gan as the location.[3][9] A Hebrew Ynet account specifies bus route 20 near the Ramat Gan Bourse.[1] The July 24 attack should not be conflated with the separate August 21, 1995 Jerusalem bus bombing described in a U.S. Department of State chronology.[13]