Mehola Junction bombing
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]
| Mehola Junction bombing | |
|---|---|
  The attack site | |
| Location | Mehola Junction, West Bank |
| Coordinates | 32°22′15″N 35°30′29″E |
| Date | April 16, 1993 c. 1:00 am (UTC+2) |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Weapon | Car bomb |
| Deaths | 1 civilian (+1 bomber) |
| Injured | 7–9 |
| Perpetrator | Hamas claimed responsibility |
| Assailant | Shahar al-Nabulsi |
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]
References
- 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.
- Katz (2002), pg. 74
- "Suicide car bomb kills 2 near West Bank restaurant". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. 17 April 1993.
- Dzikansky, Mordecai. "Terrorist Suicide Bombings: Attack Interdiction, Mitigation, and Response". CRC Press. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- Jerusalem Post, 18 April 1993, pg. 1.
- Katz, Samuel (2002). The Hunt for the Engineer. Lyons Press. ISBN 1-58574-749-1.
