Terrorist attacks on Ben-Jehuda-Strasse
The terrorist attacks on Ben Jehuda Street in the Jewish New Town of Jerusalem are a series of bomb attacks. These have been perpetrated since 1948 as part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict .
The street
Ben Yehuda Street is a central shopping street in Jerusalem . The street is named after Eliezer Ben Jehuda . It runs from the southwest to the northeast from König-Georg-Strasse to Zion-Platz on Jaffa Street and is one of the older streets in the city. It existed before Israel was founded . Despite the attacks, the street became a tourist attraction due to the multitude of shops, souvenir shops, restaurants and cafes. In 1983, Ben-Jehuda-Strasse was closed to traffic and made a pedestrian zone. Today the street with its side streets is considered the center of modern Jerusalem and the main business center of the city.
attacks
1948
On February 22, 1948, at around 6:30 a.m., three British Army vehicles exploded on the corner of Ben-Jehuda- and Ben-Hillal-Strasse. The vehicles had been identified as British vehicles and could easily pass through British and Jewish checkpoints. At the wheel sat the Palestinian Azmi Djaoumi and the two British deserters Eddie Brown and Peter Madison. The three assassins parked the vehicles and then fled to Egypt. Brown claims to have lost his brother in attacks by the militant Jewish movement Irgun Tzwa'i Le'umi . Abd al-Qadir al-Husaini , leader of the Army of the Holy War , is said to have promised the two British £ 1,000 for this. 58 Jews died and 140 were injured in the attack. The explosion destroyed four buildings. In a letter of confession published the following day, al-Husaini assumed responsibility and described the attack as retaliation for a bomb attack by the Irgun Tzwa'i Le'umi in Ramla . The Arab high command contradicted this representation, however.
1971
On September 8, 1971, a grenade was thrown into the entrance of Café Alno on Ben-Jehuda-Strasse, but it did not explode.
1974
On December 12, 1974, a small explosive device exploded in the street, slightly injuring 13 people.
1975
On Friday, July 4, 1975, a refrigerator filled with 5 kilograms of explosives exploded in Zion Square on Ben-Jehuda-Strasse. The refrigerator was noticed before the explosion, but an emergency call was no longer received in time. 15 people died and 77 others were injured. Ahmad el-Sukar , who was released from prison in 2003, was responsible for the attack .
On November 13, 1975, another bomb exploded in Cafe Naveh on Jaffa Street near Ben Yehuda Street. 7 people died and 45 were injured.
1976
On April 9, 1976, a car bomb was discovered and defused before the explosion.
On May 3, 1976, 33 people were injured when a booby trap exploded on a parked scooter on the corner of Ben-Jehuda- and Ben-Hillel-Straße. The Greek consul in Jerusalem and his wife were among the injured. The following day, Israel celebrated its Independence Day, Yom HaAtzma'ut, under the slogan “Nevertheless” at the site of the attack.
1979
On January 1, 1979, a bomb fitted with a time fuse was found across from Café Atara. This was defused in good time. On March 24, 1979, one person was killed and 13 injured when an explosive device exploded in a garbage can in Zion Square.
1981
On May 2, 1981, a police officer was slightly injured by an explosive device in a trash can.
1984
On August 15, 1984, a car bomb was discovered and defused before the explosion. The vehicle had been equipped with 12 kilograms of explosives and three kilograms of nails.
1997
At around 3 p.m. on September 4, 1997, three Hamas suicide bombers blew themselves up simultaneously in the pedestrian zone. The Palestinian assassins came from Asira al-shamaliye. Among the five fatalities were three 13 to 14 year old girls. One of the girls was the daughter of the Israeli peace activist Nurit Peled-Elhanan and the granddaughter of the Israeli general and politician Mattityahu Peled . Peled-Elhanan said she did not blame the group of suicide bombers for the incident, but saw Israeli repression of the Palestinians as the indirect cause of her daughter's death.
The family of Yael Botvin, a US citizen of Jewish origin, sued the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States. In a default judgment , Iran was sentenced to pay a total of US $ 251 million in compensation for pain and suffering and damages. The Iranian government made little effort to pay the requested sum. The plaintiffs then threatened to have Persian artifacts confiscated and sold in museums in Chicago and to have Bank Melli Iran's deposits at the Bank of New York confiscated. The US Department of Justice refused to confiscate Bank Melli's funds, however, on the grounds that the bank could not be held liable. On December 2, 2013, five American families who were victims of the attack were awarded $ 9 million.
2001
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On December 1, 2001, two suicide bombers blew themselves up on Ben Jehuda Street on the corner of Jaffa Street. Here a large group of young people had gathered around several samba drummers and danced to celebrate the end of the Sabbath. When paramedics arrived, a car blocked the access road. This detonated when helpers wanted to get it out of the way. At least 13 people died and 188 were injured. Hamas confessed to the attack, citing retaliatory action for the death of Hamas member Mahmud Abu Hanoud as the reason . At the same time, Hamas announced further attacks. Lawsuits were then filed against the Arab Bank , NatWest and Crédit Lyonnais for transferring funds to Hamas.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Yair Sheleg: A Short History of Terror. In: Haaretz . December 3, 2001, accessed May 6, 2017 .
- ↑ Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre: O Jerusalem . History Book Club, 1972, pp. 191-195
- ^ Dov Joseph: The Faithful City - The siege of Jerusalem, 1948 . Simon and Schuster, New York 1960, p. 37
- ↑ Miko Peled: The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine . Schwabe AG, Zurich 2017, ISBN 3-85990-291-1 , introduction ( limited preview in the Google book search).
- ↑ Philipp Müller: Ein Israel: Why the two-state "solution" is not a solution . BoD - Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2017, ISBN 3-7448-3845-5 , p. 78–79 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Botvin v. Islamic Republic of Iran ( Memento of the original dated November 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Nefa Foundation
- ↑ Josh Gerstein: US Helps Iranian Bank Withdraw, Then Seeks To Freeze Funds , New York Sun , November 9, 2007
- ↑ Cynthia Fagen: Victims in Iran-backed Bombing Awarded Millions , Newsmax, December 2, 2013
- ^ Suicide bombing at the Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall , Israeli Foreign Ministry press release, December 1, 2001
- ^ Israeli blunder kills two children , The Guardian , December 11, 2001.
- ^ Bombers leave Arafat facing toughest battle , The Guardian , December 3, 2001.
- ↑ Julia Preston: Hurt by Hamas, Americans Sue Banks in US , New York Times, April 15, 2006
