| Tel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack | |
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The attack site
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| Location | Near Kiryat Yearim in Israel |
| Date | July 6, 1989 |
| Attack type | Suicide attack |
| Deaths | 16 civilians |
| Injured | 27 civilians |
| Perpetrator(s) | Palestinian Islamic Jihad |
The Tel Aviv-Jerusalem bus 405 attack was suicide attack which was carried out on July 6, 1989 by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member on a crowded Egged commuter bus line No. 405 en route from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem (Israel) whom seized the steering wheel of the bus from the driver and pulled the bus over a steep precipice into a ravine in the area of Qiryat Ye'arim. 16 civilians were killed in the attack—including two Canadians and one American—and 27 more were wounded.[1]
The attack is regarded as the first Palestinian suicide attack despite its perpetrator was not wearing a suicide belt as in later attacks, a common tactic during the Second Intifada.
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On July 6, 1989 Egged commuter bus line No. 405 began driving its regular route from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. One of the passengers on the bus was actually a Palestinian militant. When the bus passed Neve Ilan the militant attacked the driver, seized the steering wheel of the bus and pulled the bus over a steep precipice into a ravine in the area of Qiryat Ye'arim. The driver was unable to stabilize the bus; as a result the vehicle rolled down the depth of the ravine and caught fire. Some of the passengers were burned alive.
Sixteen civilians were killed in the attack—including two Canadians and one American—and 27 more were wounded.
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The perpetrator who survived the crash received medical treatment for his injuries in an Israeli hospital. After the attack, it was revealed that perpetrator was a 25-year-old Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant named Abd al-Hadi Rafa Ghanim who originated from the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
Ghanim was later convicted and given 16 life sentences for murder, hijacking and terrorism.
On 18 October 2011 Ghanim, who was originally sentenced to 16 life sentences, was released to Gaza as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.[18]
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