Sami Hammad
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Tel Aviv shawarma restaurant bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on April 17, 2006 in the "Rosh Ha'ir" shawarma
Shawarma
Shawarma is a Levantine Arab sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. It is eaten with pita bread, tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus,...

 restaurant in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

. 11 people were killed in the attack and 70 people were injured.

The Palestinian Islamist militant organization Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad may refer to:* Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine* Islamic Jihad Organization, active mostly in Lebanon* Islamic Jihad of Yemen* Turkish Islamic Jihad* Egyptian Islamic JihadSee also:* Islamic jihad, theological concept of jihad...

 claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack

On Monday, April 17, 2006, around 1:30 pm, a Palestinian suicide bomber approached a crowded fast food restaurant near the old central bus station of Tel Aviv in the southern part of the Neve Shaanan neighborhood. The suicide bomber blew himself up when the security guard stationed at the entrance to the restaurant asked him to open his bag for inspection.

The blast killed 11 people and injured more than 70. Two of the victims died after they had arrived at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Of the wounded, six were seriously hurt, 12 sustained moderate wounds, while the rest were lightly injured.

Fatalities

  • Philip Balhasan, 45, of Ashdod
  • Rozalia Beseneyi, 48, of Romania
    Romania
    Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

  • Piroşca Boda 50, of Romania
    Romania
    Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

  • Marcel Cohen, 73, of Nice, France
  • Ariel Darhi, 31, of Bat Yam
  • Victor Erez, 60, of Givatayim
  • Binyamin Haputa, 47, of Lod
    Lod
    Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...

  • David Shaulov, 29, of Holon
  • Lily Yunes, 43, of Oranit
    Oranit
    Oranit is an Israeli settlement and local council located off Highway 5 adjacent to Kafr Qasim, north of Rosh HaAyin on the western edge of the West Bank. On the Seam Zone, a sizable amount of the town's land is located within the Green Line...

  • Lior Anidzar, 26, of Tel Aviv
    Tel Aviv
    Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

     – died of his wounds on May 13.
  • Daniel Wultz, 16, of Weston, Florida
    Weston, Florida
    Weston is a suburb of South Florida located in Broward County, Florida, USA. Established as a city in 1996, much of the community was developed by Arvida/JMB Realty and is located near the western developmental boundary of Broward County. It is the most western city in Broward County, and its...

    , USA – died of his wounds on May 14.

  • The perpetrators

    Palestinian group Islamic Jihad
    Islamic Jihad
    Islamic Jihad may refer to:* Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine* Islamic Jihad Organization, active mostly in Lebanon* Islamic Jihad of Yemen* Turkish Islamic Jihad* Egyptian Islamic JihadSee also:* Islamic jihad, theological concept of jihad...

     has claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as Sami Salim Hamad, an Islamic Jihad activist from the village of Qabatiya
    Qabatiya
    Qabatiya or Qabatia is a Palestinian town located in the northern West Bank 6 km south of the city of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 49,198 in 2007....

     in the West Bank
    West Bank
    The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

    .

    After the attack the Islamic Jihad
    Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
    The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...

     published a video tape in which the militant organization stated that the attack was carried out by the 21-year-old Palestinian Sami Salim Hammad from the village of Araqah
    Araqah
    Araqah is a Palestinian town in the Jenin Governorate in the Northern area of the West Bank, located 15 kilometers West of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 2,124 inhabitants in mid-year 2006....

    , who infiltrated into Israel from the West Bank
    West Bank
    The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

    .

    Official reactions

    Involved parties
     Israel
    • Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir stated that Israel held 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...

       responsible for the attacks, accusing the Hamas of "giving support to all the other terrorist organizations".


     Palestinian territories:
    • 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...

      , which won the Palestinian general elections on 25 January 2006
      Palestinian legislative election, 2006
      On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...

      , refused to condemn the attack, and instead described the attack as an act of this self-defense
      Self-defense
      Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...

      .
    • Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry, called the attack "a direct result of the policy of the occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people."


    International: The 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....

     administration has strongly criticized the attacks, calling it "a despicable act of terror for which there is no excuse or justification."

    External links

    • Suicide bombing at "Rosh Ha'ir" shawarma restaurant in Tel Aviv - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    • Palestinian bomber was 21-year-old dropout - published on USA Today
      USA Today
      USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

       on April 17, 2006.
    • Suicide bomber kills nine in Tel Aviv - published on MSNBC
      MSNBC
      MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

       on April 17, 2006.
    • 9 killed in Tel Aviv blast - published on Ynetnews
      Ynetnews
      Ynetnews is the online English language Israeli news website of Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s most-read newspaper, and the Hebrew Israel news portal, Ynet...

      on April 17, 2006.
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