Hebrew University massacre
Encyclopedia
The Hebrew University massacre was a Palestinian
terror attack which occurred on 31 July 2002 in a cafeteria at the Mount Scopus
campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. The attack killed 9 people, mostly American
students, and injured about 100. It was carried out by an East Jerusalem
-based Hamas
cell whose members are serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prisons for that attack and others.
The attack, which sparked a celebration in Gaza City, was condemned by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
and several countries.
campus.
In the minutes after the explosion, dazed, blood-spattered students emerged from the building; the air smelled of smoke and burnt flesh.
About 100 people were injured in the attack. The wounded included Israelis, Arabs, four Americans and three South Korea
ns.
claimed responsibility for the bombing during a rally in Gaza City attended by some 10,000 supporters. A masked Hamas speaker said: "This operation today is a part of a series of operations we will launch from everywhere in Palestine". At the speakers' request, the entire crowd knelt to pray that future Hamas attacks "would succeed against the enemy of God". Hamas said the attack was in revenge for the Israeli targeted killing
of the organization's military chief, Salah Shehadeh, the previous week.
Israel:
Palestinian territories:
Supranational: Secretary General Kofi Annan
released a statement on the day of the attack saying: "The Secretary-General is appalled by today's bomb attack at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in which seven people were killed and more than 80 wounded. He condemns utterly all such terrorist attacks against civilians. He once again urges all concerned to end the cycle of violence, revenge and retaliation, and calls on the parties to return to the path of negotiations on a permanent settlement."
International: President
George W. Bush
also condemned the attack, saying to reporters: "I want to condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack that took place in Israel. There are clearly killers who hate the thought of peace, and, therefore, are willing to take their hatred to all kinds of places, including a university. And this country condemns that kind of killing, and we send our deepest sympathy to the students and their families. I also want to make it clear to the killers that it won't stop us from rallying the world to fight their kind of terror; nor will they stop us from having a vision of peace." He also stated: "I'm just as angry as Israel is right now. I'm furious that innocent life was lost. However through my fury, even though I am mad, I still believe peace is possible."
The Hebrew University beefed up its security following the bombing. In 2005, it became the first Israeli university to employ bomb-sniffing dogs. As of that year, the entrances to the institution were equipped with metal detectors and staffed by approximately two dozen security guards.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
terror attack which occurred on 31 July 2002 in a cafeteria at the Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. The attack killed 9 people, mostly American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
students, and injured about 100. It was carried out by an East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
-based Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
cell whose members are serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prisons for that attack and others.
The attack, which sparked a celebration in Gaza City, was condemned by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
and several countries.
The attack
The bombing took place during the summer examination period, while summer Hebrew-language courses were being taught. The explosion occurred at lunchtime in a crowded cafeteria within the Frank Sinatra student center at the heart of the university's Mount ScopusMount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
campus.
In the minutes after the explosion, dazed, blood-spattered students emerged from the building; the air smelled of smoke and burnt flesh.
Fatalities
Nine people were killed in the attack. Seven died immediately and two died of their wounds in the following weeks. The victims, according to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were:
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About 100 people were injured in the attack. The wounded included Israelis, Arabs, four Americans and three South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
ns.
Hamas claim of responsibility
Palestinian Islamist organization HamasHamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
claimed responsibility for the bombing during a rally in Gaza City attended by some 10,000 supporters. A masked Hamas speaker said: "This operation today is a part of a series of operations we will launch from everywhere in Palestine". At the speakers' request, the entire crowd knelt to pray that future Hamas attacks "would succeed against the enemy of God". Hamas said the attack was in revenge for the Israeli targeted killing
Israeli targeted killings
In the course of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Israel Defense Forces use the term "focused foiling" against those it considers proven to have intentions of performing a specific act of violence in the very near future or to be linked indirectly with several acts of violence , thus raising...
of the organization's military chief, Salah Shehadeh, the previous week.
Celebration
Later in the day, hundreds of Hamas supporters poured into the streets of Gaza City to celebrate the bombing and vow more attacks. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh, who later became the de-facto Prime Minister of the Gaza Strip, said: "If they are going to attack our children, then they will have to expect to drink from the same poison."Condemnations
Involved parties Israel:
- The government called the bombing "a despicable act so horrendous it defies words", and stated that the ultimate blame for it lay with Palestinian Authority President Yasser ArafatYasser ArafatMohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
. - Hebrew University President Menachem MagidorMenachem MagidorMenachem Magidor is an Israeli mathematician who specializes in mathematical logic, in particular set theory. He served as President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.- Biography :Menachem Magidor was born in Petah Tikva on January 24, 1946....
wrote: "The attackers' decision to strike precisely at our campus, which is a center of tolerance and pluralism, is frightening... We must not give in. We must grit our teeth and carry on. Giving up on what we are trying to create at the university is a surrender to terror."
Palestinian territories:
- The Palestinian Authority stated that it "absolutely condemns the attack", but laid the blame at the feet of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, for continuing what it called Israel's policy "of destruction, killing and collective punishment".
Supranational: Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
released a statement on the day of the attack saying: "The Secretary-General is appalled by today's bomb attack at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in which seven people were killed and more than 80 wounded. He condemns utterly all such terrorist attacks against civilians. He once again urges all concerned to end the cycle of violence, revenge and retaliation, and calls on the parties to return to the path of negotiations on a permanent settlement."
International: President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
also condemned the attack, saying to reporters: "I want to condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack that took place in Israel. There are clearly killers who hate the thought of peace, and, therefore, are willing to take their hatred to all kinds of places, including a university. And this country condemns that kind of killing, and we send our deepest sympathy to the students and their families. I also want to make it clear to the killers that it won't stop us from rallying the world to fight their kind of terror; nor will they stop us from having a vision of peace." He also stated: "I'm just as angry as Israel is right now. I'm furious that innocent life was lost. However through my fury, even though I am mad, I still believe peace is possible."
- Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Kong Quan said: "China is shocked by and strongly condemns the expansion of bombing to campuses. Reality tells us that trades of violence can only cause more deaths and injuries to both sides. We call on both Israel and Palestine to cease the attacks of its kind against innocent civilians, making earnest and practical efforts to coordinate the peace-promoting efforts to prevent things from worsening."
- The government said it was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries incurred during the terrorist bombing of the cafeteria in the Frank Sinatra Building at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Wednesday 31st July. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pahad reiterates the view that these forms of terrorist attacks directed at Israeli civilians cannot be justified as legitimate acts of resistance, and must be condemned unequivocally."
Aftermath
In the wake of the attack, Israel adopted a deterrence strategy of demolishing houses belonging to suicide bombers. Israel shelved the policy in February 2005.The Hebrew University beefed up its security following the bombing. In 2005, it became the first Israeli university to employ bomb-sniffing dogs. As of that year, the entrances to the institution were equipped with metal detectors and staffed by approximately two dozen security guards.
See also
- 1969 Hebrew University bombing
- 1978 Hebrew University bombing
- Mercaz HaRav massacreMercaz HaRav massacreThe Mercaz HaRav massacre, also called the Mercaz HaRav shooting, was an attack that occurred on 6 March 2008, in which a lone Palestinian gunman shot multiple students at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, a religious school in Jerusalem, Israel, after which the gunman himself was shot dead. Eight students...
- Israeli casualties of war
External links
- Terrorist bombing at Hebrew University cafeteria - 31-Jul-2002, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs