Tel Aviv bus 5 suicide bombing
Encyclopedia
The Dizengoff Street bus bombing was a Hamas suicide attack on a passenger bus driving down Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv in 1994. At that time, it was the deadliest suicide bombing in Israeli history, and the first successful attack in Tel Aviv
. Twenty-two civilians were killed and 50 were injured. The attack was planned by Hamas chief Yahya Ayyash
, on the eve of the signing of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace
.
, had killed "only" six Israelis. The bomb used in that attack had been small and made of acetone peroxide
, a relatively weak explosive. For the attack on bus five, Ayyash constructed a bomb using an Egyptian land mine
packed with twenty kilograms of military-strength TNT, surrounded by nails and screws. TNT is not readily available in the Palestinian territories, but Hamas had managed to acquire some by smuggling it in or purchasing it from Israeli organized crime
. The device "was one of the best ever built by Ayyash."
Qalqilya resident Saleh Abdel Rahim al-Souwi was selected for the attack. Al-Souwi joined Hamas after his older brother Hasin was killed in 1989, in a shootout with Israeli forces. Al-Souwi was wanted by the Israeli Shabak, but was not considered a high priority. The day before the attack, al-Souwi taped a statement saying "It is good to die as a martyr
for Allah
" and "Sages end up in paradise
".
), drove al-Souwi to one of the bus's first stops. al-Souwi chose an aisle seat on the left side of the bus, and placed the bomb (stored in a brown bag) at his feet.
At approximately 9:00 AM, as the bus was slowing down for a stop 100 metres north of Dizengoff Square
, al-Souwi detonated the bomb killing 21 Israelis and one Dutch national. The powerful explosion lifted the bus off its chassis and the heat melted the fiberglass
bus frame.
Limbs were projected like missiles into the seating area of nearby restaurants.
Following the explosion, a crowd of demonstrators descended on the bomb site chanting "Death to the Arabs". "Police arrested scores of Arab suspects in and around the blast area, though most of them were detained to save them from the crowd's anger."
At the time of the attack, it was the deadliest in Israeli history. However, subsequent bombings have been even more devastating, among them the Jaffa Road bus bombings, the Passover suicide bombing, and the Shmuel Hanavi bus bombing.
Yitzhak Rabin
, then Israel's Prime Minister, who was in the United Kingdom
on a state visit, immediately returned to Israel. Ayyash's name and pictures of the demolished bus were featured in newspapers around the world.
Israeli police quickly identified al-Souwi as the perpetrator. The day after the bombing, with his identify confirmed using DNA, al-Souwi's family threw a neighborhood party celebrating his "martyrdom." That afternoon, the Israel Security Agency (ISA) destroyed the house, after giving the family one hour to remove their possessions.
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...
. Twenty-two civilians were killed and 50 were injured. The attack was planned by Hamas chief Yahya Ayyash
Yahya Ayyash
Yahya Abd-al-Latif Ayyash was the chief bombmaker of Hamas and the leader of the West Bank battalion of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, on the eve of the signing of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace
Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace
The Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed in 1994. The treaty normalized relations between the two countries and resolved territorial disputes. The conflict had cost roughly US$18.3 billion...
.
Background
Yahya Ayyash was disappointed that the previous attack he orchestrated, the Hadera central station suicide bombingHadera central station suicide bombing
The Hadera bus station suicide bombing was a 1994 Hamas suicide attack on a passenger bus departing from the central bus station in Hadera for Tel Aviv, Israel. Six civilians were killed and 30 injured. The attack came exactly one week after another Hamas attack, the Afula Bus suicide bombing...
, had killed "only" six Israelis. The bomb used in that attack had been small and made of acetone peroxide
Acetone peroxide
Acetone peroxide is an organic peroxide and a primary high explosive. It takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive bleach-like odor....
, a relatively weak explosive. For the attack on bus five, Ayyash constructed a bomb using an Egyptian land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
packed with twenty kilograms of military-strength TNT, surrounded by nails and screws. TNT is not readily available in the Palestinian territories, but Hamas had managed to acquire some by smuggling it in or purchasing it from Israeli organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. The device "was one of the best ever built by Ayyash."
Qalqilya resident Saleh Abdel Rahim al-Souwi was selected for the attack. Al-Souwi joined Hamas after his older brother Hasin was killed in 1989, in a shootout with Israeli forces. Al-Souwi was wanted by the Israeli Shabak, but was not considered a high priority. The day before the attack, al-Souwi taped a statement saying "It is good to die as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
for Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
" and "Sages end up in paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
".
The attack
Muatab Mukadi, a member of Ayyash's Samaria battalion (of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam BrigadesIzz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of...
), drove al-Souwi to one of the bus's first stops. al-Souwi chose an aisle seat on the left side of the bus, and placed the bomb (stored in a brown bag) at his feet.
At approximately 9:00 AM, as the bus was slowing down for a stop 100 metres north of Dizengoff Square
Dizengoff Square
Dizengoff Square is an iconic public square in Tel Aviv, on the corner of Dizengoff Street, Reines Street and Pinsker Street...
, al-Souwi detonated the bomb killing 21 Israelis and one Dutch national. The powerful explosion lifted the bus off its chassis and the heat melted the fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
bus frame.
Limbs were projected like missiles into the seating area of nearby restaurants.
Following the explosion, a crowd of demonstrators descended on the bomb site chanting "Death to the Arabs". "Police arrested scores of Arab suspects in and around the blast area, though most of them were detained to save them from the crowd's anger."
Fatalities
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Aftermath
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, then Israel's Prime Minister, who was in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on a state visit, immediately returned to Israel. Ayyash's name and pictures of the demolished bus were featured in newspapers around the world.
Israeli police quickly identified al-Souwi as the perpetrator. The day after the bombing, with his identify confirmed using DNA, al-Souwi's family threw a neighborhood party celebrating his "martyrdom." That afternoon, the Israel Security Agency (ISA) destroyed the house, after giving the family one hour to remove their possessions.