Bat Mitzvah massacre

Bat Mitzvah massacre
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign
The attack site
Location	Hadera, Israel
Date	January 18, 2002 9:45 pm (GMT+2)
Attack type	shooting attack
Deaths	6 Israeli civilians (+ 1 attacker)
Injured	33 Israeli civilians
Perpetrator(s)	al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility

The Bat Mitzvah massacre was a January 18, 2002 terrorist attack in Hadera, Israel, in which a Palestinian gunman killed six people and wounded 33 at a Bat Mitzvah celebration, a traditional Jewish celebration held for a 12-year-old girl.^[1]^[2]

1 The attack
- 1.1 Fatalities
2 The perpetrators
3 Aftermath
4 Official reactions
5 References
6 See also
7 External links
8 References

The attack

The attack took place at 9:45 pm (GMT+2) as guests were departing. ^[3] The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades assumed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was vengeance for the killing of one of its leaders. An Israeli police spokesman said the man, apparently on a suicide mission, had detonated explosives on him and thrown several grenades into the Armon David wedding hall, where the Bat Mitzvah celebration took place. A belt filled with explosives was found on the attacker. ^[2]

Fatalities

Boris Melikhov, 56, of Sderot^[4]
Aharon Ellis, 32, of Ra'anana^[4]
Anatoly Bakshiev, 62, of Or Akiva^[4]
Avi Yazdi, 24, of Or Akiva^[4]
Edward Bakshayev, 48, of Or Akiva^[4]
Dina Binayev, 48, of Ashkelon^[4]

The perpetrators

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said the killer, 24-year-old Abdel Salam Hassouna, was from a village near Nablus and launched the attack to avenge the death of Raed Karmi.^[2]

After the attack a video made earlier by the killer was released, in which he is seen declaring: "I am doing this to avenge all the Palestinian martyrs."^[5]

Aftermath

The Al Jazeera television network was criticized for bias in coverage of the massacre, failing to note that the victims were attending a bat mitzvah and that the gunman crashed the event at a crowded banquet hall, and failing to mention the number of people killed by Raed Karmi when covering his assassination several days earlier, which would have provided context for the story.^[5]

Official reactions

Involved parties

Israel

Palestinian territories:

The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack but blamed Israel for provoking it.^[3]

International

United States: the US government condemned the Hadera attack "in the strongest possible terms," calling it a "horrific act of terrorism."^[3]

References

^ [1]
^ ^a ^b ^c Bat mitzvah massacre in Israel leaves seven dead, Phil Reeves, 18 January 2002
^ ^a ^b ^c Gunman kills 6 Israelis; jets fire missiles in response, January 18, 2002. CNN
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f http://old.btselem.org/statistics/english/Casualties_Data.asp?Category=6&region=ISRAEL&sD=29&sM=09&sY=2000&eD=26&eM=12&eY=2008&filterby=event&oferet_stat=before
^ ^a ^b Perspectives on war. Hickey, Neil, Columbia Journalism Review, March 1 2002

External links

Seven killed in attack in Israel - published on BBC News on January 18, 2002
Seven Suicide terrorist kills 6 at Bat Mitzvah in Israel - published on the New York Post on January 18, 2002

References

^ [1]
^ ^a ^b ^c Bat mitzvah massacre in Israel leaves seven dead, Phil Reeves, 18 January 2002
^ ^a ^b ^c Gunman kills 6 Israelis; jets fire missiles in response, January 18, 2002. CNN
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f http://old.btselem.org/statistics/english/Casualties_Data.asp?Category=6&region=ISRAEL&sD=29&sM=09&sY=2000&eD=26&eM=12&eY=2008&filterby=event&oferet_stat=before
^ ^a ^b Perspectives on war. Hickey, Neil, Columbia Journalism Review, March 1 2002

Prominent terrorist attacks against Israeli targets in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 2000s

2000	Ramallah lynching (October 12)

2001	Murder of Ofir Rahum (January 17) – Netanya bombing (March 4) – Murder of Shalhevet Pass (March 26) – Murder of Koby Mandell and Yosef Ishran (May 8) – 1st HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing (May 18) – Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing (June 1) – Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing (August 9) – Nahariya train station suicide bombing (September 9) – Assassination of the Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze'evi (October 17) – Egged bus 823 bombing (November 29) – Ben Yehuda Street Bombings (December 1) – Haifa bus 16 suicide bombing (December 2) – Immanuel bus attack (December 12)

2002	Bat Mitzvah massacre (January 18) – Tel Aviv outdoor mall bombing (January 25) – Jaffa Street bombing (January 27) – Karnei Shomron Mall suicide bombing (February 16) – Yeshivat Beit Yisrael massacre (March 2) – Café Moment bombing (March 9) – Matzuva attack (March 12) – Egged bus 823 bombing (March 20) – King George Street bombing (March 21) – Passover massacre (March 27) ‡ – Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing (March 29) – Matza restaurant suicide bombing (March 31) – Yagur Junction bombing (April 10) – Mahane Yehuda Market bombing (April 12) – Rishon LeZion bombing (May 7) – Netanya Market bombing (May 19) – Pi Glilot bombing (May 23) – Megiddo Junction bus bombing (June 5) – Herzliya shawarma restaurant bombing (June 11) – Patt Junction Bus Bombing (June 18) – French Hill Junction massacre (June 19) – Itamar attack (June 20) – Immanuel bus attack (July 16) – Neve Shaanan Street bombing (July 17) – Hebrew University massacre (July 31) – Meron Junction Bus 361 attack (August 4) – Allenby Street bus bombing (September 19) – Karkur junction suicide bombing (October 21) – Sonol gas station bombing (October 27) – Kiryat Menachem bus bombing (November 21) – Mombasa attacks (November 28) – Beit She'an attack (November 28)

2003	Tel-Aviv central bus station massacre (January 5) – Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing (March 5) – Mike's Place suicide bombing (April 30) – Jerusalem bombings (May 18) – Afula mall bombing (May 19) – Davidka Square bus bombing (June 11) – Murder of Oleg Shaichat (July 28) – Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing (August 19) – Tzrifin bus stop attack (September 9) – Café Hillel bombing (September 9) – Maxim restaurant suicide bombing (October 4) – Geha Interchange bus stop bombing (December 25)

2004	Erez Crossing bombing (January 14) – Gaza Street bus bombing (January 29) – Liberty Bell Park bus bombing (February 22) – Ashdod Port bombings (March 14) – Murder of Tali Hatuel and her four daughters (May 2) – Tashkent Israeli embassy bombing (July 30) – Beersheba bus bombings (August 31) – Sinai bombings (October 7) – Carmel Market bombing (November 1) – IDF outpost bombing attack (December 12)

2005	Karni border crossing attack (January 13) – Stage Club bombing (February 25) – 2nd HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing (July 12) – Shfar'am attack (August 4) – Hadera Market bombing (October 26) – 3rd HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing (December 5)

2006	Kedumim bombing (March 30) – Tel Aviv shawarma restaurant bombing (April 17) – Hamas cross-border raid (June 25) – Murder of Eliyahu Asheri (June 25)

2007	Eilat bakery bombing (January 29) – Nahal Telem attack (December 28)

2008	Dimona suicide bombing (February 4) – Mercaz HaRav massacre (March 6) – Jerusalem bulldozer attack (July 2) – Jerusalem BMW attack (September 22)

2009	Bat Ayin ax attack (April 2) – Killing of Rabbi Meir Hai (December 24)

‡ indicates the terrorist attack which caused the greatest amount of Israeli casualties during the 2000s Full list of Palestinian suicide attacks • List of Israeli civilian casualties in the Second Intifada Full list of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel • Full list of Lebanese rocket attacks on Israel • Rocket attack on Eilat 1990s 2010s