Beit Lid suicide bombing

Beit Lid suicide bombing
The attack site
Location	Beit Lid Junction, Israel
Coordinates	32°19′25″N 34°54′14″E / 32.32361°N 34.90389°E / 32.32361; 34.90389
Date	January 22, 1995 9:30 am (GMT+2)
Attack type	Suicide attack
Deaths	20 Israeli soldiers and one civilian (+ 2 suicide bombers)
Non-fatal injuries	69 Israelis, mostly soldiers
Perpetrators	Two Palestinian suicide bombers (Anwar Soukar and Salah Shaaker). Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

The Beit Lid suicide bombing, (also named Beit Lid massacre^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]) was a suicide attack by Palestinian Islamic Jihad against Israeli soldiers at the Beit Lid Junction on January 22, 1995. It was the first suicide attack by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Background

In 1994, Hani Abed, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative, brokered an alliance between Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (Hani was later assassinated by Israel). As part of the alliance, Hamas's chief bombmaker, Yahya Ayyash, built the three bombs used by Islamic Jihad for the Beit Lid suicide attack. Each was made using plumber's pipe (one foot long and eight inches (203 mm) wide) and five kilograms of military-grade TNT, surrounded by nails.^[5]

The Beit Lid junction is a well-known waypoint towards Netanya. Strategically, it is an important crossroads between Tel Aviv and Haifa located on Highway 4. "On Sunday mornings, Beit Lid was swamped with thousands of young soldiers and aging reservists heading back to military duty from weekend leaves".^[5] Ashmoret Prison is located in the southwest corner of the Beit Lid junction. At the time of the bombing, Ahmed Yassin, founder of Hamas, was being held there.^[5]

The attack

A monument commemorating the victims of the bombings.

On 22 January 1995, at approximately 9:30 am, a Palestinian suicide bomber, disguised as an Israeli soldier, approached the bus stop at the Beit Lid junction in central Israel. The bus stop was full of Israeli soldiers who were on their way to their bases after their weekend vacation. The suicide bomber walked into the crowd and detonated the hidden explosives belt he was wearing. About three minutes later a second suicide bomber exploded at the same spot, killing and injuring people wounded in the first explosion, as well as bystanders who had rushed to the scene to assist the victims of the first explosion.

Fatalities

Soldiers

Lt. David Ben-Zino, 20, of Ashdod^[6]
Lt. Adi Rosen, 20, of moshav Bitzaron^[7]
Lt. Yuval Tuvya, 22, of Jerusalem^[8]
Sgt.-Maj. Anan Kadur, 24, of Daliyat al-Karmel^[9]
Staff-Sgt. Damian Rosovski, 20, of Kadima^[10]
Staff-Sgt. Yehiel Sharvit, 21, of Haifa^[11]
Staff-Sgt. Yaron Blum, 20, of Jerusalem^[12]
Sgt. Maya Kopstein, 19, of Jerusalem^[13]
Sgt. Daniel Tzikuashvili, 19, of Jerusalem^[14]
Sgt. Avi Salto, 19, of Rishon Lezion^[15]
Sgt. Rafael Mizrahi, 19, of Ramat Gan^[16]

Sgt. Eran Gueta, 20, of Ashkelon^[17]
Cpl. Soli Mizrahi, 18, of Ramat Gan^[18]
Cpl. David Hasson, 18, of Ashkelon^[19]
Cpl. Amir Hirschenson, 18, of Jerusalem^[20]
Cpl. Gilad Gal-On, 18, of Herzliya^[21]
Cpl. Ilie Dagan, 18, of Kochav Yair^[22]
Cpl. Eitan Peretz, 18, of Nahariya^[23]
Lt. Eyal Levy, 20, of Ashdod – seriously wounded, later died of his wounds^[24]
Cpl. Yaniv Weiser, 18, of Givatayim – seriously wounded, later died of his wounds^[25]

Civilians

Shabtai Mahpud, 34, of moshav Tnuvot.^[26]

Aftermath

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin toured the bombing site the next day, walking within yards of a kit bag containing a third bomb. Shaaker had left it there for a third suicide bomber, Shahdi Abed al-Rahim, who never made it to the junction. al-Rahim was to have used the bomb to kill Rabin and the Shabak agents accompanying him. The bomb was later recovered, and provided investigators with more evidence implicating Ayyash.^[27]

References

↑ "But after the Beit Lid massacre, the government approved the construction and sale of 4000 units in occupied land around Jerusalem." Beyer, Lisa. "Can Peace Survive", Time, February 06, 1995.
↑ "When Arafat called Rabin to express his condolences on the Beit Lid massacre, the prime minister was understandably furious." Karsh, Efraim, Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest, Grove Press, 2003, p. 116. ISBN 0-8021-1758-9
↑ "The reaction of peace processors in Jerusalem and Washington to the Beit Lid massacre, in which Islamic suicide bombers wiped out a score of Israelis, has been shock, anger, sorrow -- but a determination that terrorist attacks not be allowed to stop the peace process." Safire, William. "Essay; Responding to Terror", The New York Times, January 26, 1995.
↑ "President Ezer Weizman, a super-dove who initially supported the agreement wholeheartedly, called for a temporary suspension of talks following the Beit Lid massacre on January 22 and again after the February 6 killing in Gaza." Bar-Ilan, David. "Rain of terror - Israeli politics", National Review, March 6, 1995, p. 2.
↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Katz, 166-167
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
↑ "Fatal Terrorist Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles". MFA. 24 September 2000. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
↑ Katz, 168

Bibliography

Katz, Samuel. The Hunt for the Engineer. Lyons Press, 2002. ISBN 1-58574-749-1

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beit Lid massacre memorial.

Suicide bomb kills 19 at Israel road junction - published on Boston Herald on January 23, 1995
Two-Stage Bombing Kills 19 At Israeli Military Bus Stop - published on Washington Post on January 23, 1995
Blast kills 19 in Israel - published on Sun Journal on January 23, 1995
Double Bombing Kills 19 Israelis, Wounds 60 - published on Times Daily on January 23, 1995
Time Magazine interview with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shkaki four days after the bombing

Prominent terrorist attacks against Israelis in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 1990s

1990	Assassination of Meir Kahane (November 5)

1992	Night of the Pitchforks (February 14) Attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires (March 17) Murder of Helena Rapp (May 24) Kidnapping and murder of Nissim Toledano (December 13)

1993	Mehola Junction bombing (April 16) Kidnapping and murder of Yaron Chen (August 5)

1994	Afula Bus suicide bombing (April 6) Hadera central station suicide bombing (April 13) Attack on the Israeli Embassy in London (July 26) Kidnapping and murder of Nachshon Wachsman (October 14) Dizengoff Street bus bombing (October 19) Netzarim Junction bicycle bombing (November 11) Afula axe attack (November 30)

1995	Beit Lid massacre (January 22) Kfar Darom bus attack (April 9) Ramat Gan bus bombing (July 24) Jerusalem bus 26 bombing (August 21)

1996	First Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombing (February 25) ‡ Second Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombing (March 3) Dizengoff Center suicide bombing (March 4) Murder of Yaron and Efrat Ungar (June 9)

1997	Island of Peace massacre (March 13) Café Apropo bombing (March 21) Mahane Yehuda Market Bombings (July 30) Ben Yehuda Street Bombing (September 4)

Attacks launched from the West Bank Attacks launched from the Gaza Strip Attacks launched from Lebanon Attacks launched from Jordan ‡ indicates the terrorist attack which caused the greatest amount of Israeli casualties during the 1990s Full list of Palestinian suicide attacks Full list of Lebanese rocket attacks on Israel 1980s 2000s

Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1990s

Within Israel	Night of the Pitchforks (February 14, 1992) Murder of Helena Rapp (May 24, 1992) Kidnapping and murder of Nissim Toledano (December 13, 1992) Afula Bus suicide bombing² (April 6, 1994) Hadera central station suicide bombing (April 13, 1994) Kidnapping and murder of Nachshon Wachsman² (October 14, 1994) Dizengoff Street bus bombing (October 19, 1994) Afula axe attack² (November 30, 1994) Beit Lid massacre (January 22, 1995) Kfar Darom bus attack³ (April 9, 1995) Ramat Gan bus bombing² (July 24, 1995) Jerusalem bus 26 bombing (August 21, 1995) First Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombing (February 25, 1996) Second Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombing (March 3, 1996) Dizengoff Center suicide bombing (March 4, 1996) Murder of Yaron and Efrat Ungar (June 9, 1996) Café Apropo bombing (March 21, 1997) Mahane Yehuda Market Bombings (July 30, 1997) Ben Yehuda Street Bombing (September 4, 1997)

West Bank	Mehola Junction bombing (April 16, 1993) Kidnapping and murder of Yaron Chen (August 5, 1993)

Gaza Strip	Netzarim Junction bicycle bombing (November 11, 1994)

¹ Attacks launched from Lebanon ² Attacks launched from the West Bank ³ Attacks launched from the Gaza strip 1980s 2000s