Mitzpe Yeriho bus bombing
1978 Mitzpe Yeriho bombing | |
---|---|
Location | Mitzpe Yeriho, West Bank |
Date | 19 November 1978 |
Attack type | Bombing |
Deaths | 4 |
Injured | 37 |
Perpetrators | DFLP and Fatah |
On 19 November 1978 a bomb exploded in an intercity bus during a stopover at Mitzpe Yeriho in the West Bank. Four people were killed and 37 people were wounded in the attack.[1][2]
Attack
The bus that was attacked was an intercity bus scheduled to go from Shefech Zohar, a spa on the Dead Sea, to Tel Aviv via Jericho and Jerusalem. The bomb was reported by the bus driver to have been thrown into the crowded bus in Mitzpe Yeriho by a man who escaped in a waiting pick-up truck toward the Jordan River.[2] The police investigation however found that inspection of the bus frame indicated that the bomb had been placed inside the bus rather than thrown.[3]
Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Fatah and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).[1] The victims were identified as Itzhak Grobard, an Israeli Kibbutznik from Ein Hachoresh; Charles Bilogora, 18, from Belgium, who worked as a volunteer in Ein Hachoresh; Shmaryahu Nechmad, a young Israeli army sergeant;[4] and Aryeh Bentovim, 26, from Kibbutz Mitzpeh Shalom.[3] Among those injured were three Canadians, two Americans and five Swedish women.[4]
The attack was one of three terrorist incidents the same day, which was apparently timed to coincide with the first anniversary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem, which launched the peace process between Israel and Egypt. The other attacks took place on the main street of Jaffa, in which two people were slightly injured and caused damage to nearby shops, and in downtown Jerusalem where an explosive charge was found and dismantled.[2]
The attacks were condemned by the United States government, as State Department spokesman Hodding Carter said that the terrorist acts have "no justification" and that "we condemn those that perpetrated these attacks."[4]
The attack was identified as the worst of 14 terror attacks against Israelis in six weeks, that led to the Israel Air Force attacking terrorist bases in South Lebanon in December a few weeks later.[5]
References
- ^ a b Rubin, Barry; Rubin, Judith Colp (2015). Chronologies of Modern Terrorism. Routledge. p. 193. ISBN 9781317474654.
- ^ a b c "Bomb Kills 4 Persons, Injures 35". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 November 1978.
- ^ a b "Fourth Bus Bombing Victim Identified". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 November 1978.
- ^ a b c "Bus Bombing Victims Identified". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 21 November 1978.
- ^ "Israeli Planes Hit Terrorist Bases in South Lebanon in Retaliation for Rash of Terrorist Bombings". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 21 December 1978.
- v
- t
- e
- Avivim school bus bombing* (May 22, 1970)
- Lod Airport massacre (May 30, 1972)
- Kiryat Shmona massacre* (April 11, 1974)
- Ma'alot massacre* (May 15, 1974)
- Nahariya attack* (June 24–25, 1974)
- Beit She'an attack (November 19, 1974)
- Savoy Hotel attack* (March 6, 1975)
- Kfar Yuval hostage crisis* (June 15, 1975)
- Zion Square refrigerator bombing (July 4, 1975)
- Coastal Road massacre* (March 11, 1978)
- Nahariya massacre* (April 22, 1979)
- Murder of the Aroyo children (January 2, 1971)
and hijackings
- Swissair Flight 330 (February 21, 1970)
- Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking (July 22, 1970)
- Dawson's Field hijackings (September 6–13, 1970)
- Lufthansa Flight 649 (February 22–23, 1972)
- Sabena Flight 571 (May 8, 1972)
- Lufthansa Flight 615 (October 29, 1972)
- Rome airport attacks and hijacking (December 17–18, 1973)
- TWA Flight 841 (September 8, 1974)
- Air France Flight 139 (June 27, 1976)
- Lufthansa Flight 181 (October 13–18, 1977)
- Munich massacre (September 5–6, 1972)
- Israeli Bangkok embassy hostage crisis (December 28, 1972)
- Assassination of the Israeli attache in Washington (July 1, 1973)
- Schoenau ultimatum (September 28–29, 1973)
- Paris café attack (September 15, 1974)
- Orly Airport attacks (January, 1975)
- OPEC siege (December 21, 1975)
- Yeşilköy airport attack (August 11, 1976)
- Orly Airport attack (May 20, 1978)
- London bus attack (August 20, 1978)
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