| Mehola Junction bombing | |
|---|---|
) ){kind=small} The attack site | |
| Location | Mehola Junction, occupied West Bank |
| Coordinates | 32°22′14.72″N 35°30′29.12″E / 32.3707556°N 35.5080889°E |
| Date | April 16, 1993 1:00 am (UTC+2) |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 2 (the bomber and a bystander) |
| Injured | 7–9 |
| Perpetrators | One Palestinian suicide bomber (Shahar al-Nabulsi). Hamas claimed responsibility. |
The Mehola Junction bombing (also known as the Beit El bombing, literally, the House of God 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] 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][4] Ghani's brother and eight Israeli soldiers were slightly injured.[3][4]
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), p.74
- ^ a b c Associate Press (17 April 1993). "Suicide car bomb kills 2 near West Bank restaurant". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
- ^ a b Jerusalem Post, 18 April 1993, p1.
- Katz, Samuel (2002). The Hunt for the Engineer. Lyons Press. ISBN 1-58574-749-1.