Mehola Junction bombing
Mehola Junction bombing is located in the Northern West Bank
Mehola Junction bombing
The attack site
LocationMehola Junction, West Bank
Coordinates32°22′15″N 35°30′29″E / 32.37083°N 35.50806°E / 32.37083; 35.50806
DateApril 16, 1993 (1993-04-16)
c. 1:00 am (UTC+2)
Attack type
Suicide bombing
WeaponCar bomb
Deaths1 civilian (+1 bomber)
Injured7–9
PerpetratorHamas claimed responsibility
AssailantShahar al-Nabulsi

The Mehola Junction bombing (also known as the Beit El bombing) was the first suicide car bomb attack carried out by Palestinian militants and took place on 16 April 1993.[1]

Hamas bombmaker Yahya Ayyash rigged a Volkswagen Transporter using three large propane tanks and explosives collected from grenades and other ordnance. The bomb was connected to a detonator switch in the driver's controls.[2]

Hamas operative Saher Tamam al-Nabulsi drove the car to Mehola Junction, a rest area on the Jordan Valley Highway in the West Bank. Just after 1:00 am, the car exploded between two buses, one civilian and one military.[3][4] The blast killed al-Nabulsi and Marwan Ghani, a Palestinian from the nearby village of Bardala who worked in a snack bar in Mehola.[3][5] Ghani's brother and eight Israeli soldiers were slightly injured.[3][5]

An investigation conducted after the attack revealed that several weeks before the attack, on March 15, 1993, the terrorist ran over and killed Avish Yaakov Barakha, a resident of Har Brakha, and Ofer Cohen. It was also revealed that the terrorist wanted to carry out the attack within the Green Line territories, but IDF checkpoints prevented him from reaching there.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ Matthew Levitt and Dennis Ross (2007). Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad (Illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780300122589.
  2. ↑ Katz (2002), pg. 74
  3. 1 2 3 "Suicide car bomb kills 2 near West Bank restaurant". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. 17 April 1993.
  4. ↑ Dzikansky, Mordecai (10 October 2011). Terrorist Suicide Bombings: Attack Interdiction, Mitigation, and Response. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439871317. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 Jerusalem Post, 18 April 1993, pg. 1.
  6. ↑ "מתבל דרס למוות שני ישראלים שחיכו לטרמפ".
  7. ↑ Haaretz, April 18, 1993
  • Katz, Samuel (2002). The Hunt for the Engineer. Lyons Press. ISBN 1-58574-749-1.
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