The terrorist attack at Café Hillel in Jerusalem, which killed seven Israeli civilians and wounded more than 70, September 9, 2003. Places of entertainment have often been preferred targets for suicide bombing attacks (Photo: Filisteen al-Muslima, October 2003 issue)

Overview

• Jerusalem, the capital city of the State of Israel, has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs. The city is surrounded by a large Palestinian population located mostly in two urban centers, Bethlehem and Ramallah. The Palestinians maintain a close relationship with the Jerusalem's inhabitants, Arabs and Jews.

• Since the current violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation broke out in September 2000, Jerusalem has been a preferred target for Palestinian terrorist attacks. During the five years between September 2000 and October 2005, there have been 635 attacks in Jerusalem, 30 of which were suicide bombing attacks, killing 211 (about 20% of Israeli casualties since September 2000) and wounding 1,643. Most of the 211 killed in terrorist activities in Jerusalem died as victims of suicide bombing attacks (82%), which made up 5% of all the terrorist actions.

• The terrorist organizations have focused on Jerusalem more than any other Israeli city for two main reasons:
  • Its symbolic importance as the capital of the State of Israel: for the terrorist organizations, carrying out an attack in the heart of the Israeli capital is likely to make more of an impression and have more media weight than an attack carried out elsewhere.

  • The relative ease with which the terrorist organizations can infiltrate operatives into Jerusalem: It is close to Palestinian populated areas and as a mixed city, it is easier for terrorist-operatives to fade into the local population.

• This Special Bulletin includes the following:
  • Types of terrorist attacks carried out in Jerusalem

  • The deaths caused by various types of attacks

  • Suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem

  • Involvement of East Jerusalem Arabs in terrorist attacks

  • Focusing terrorist attacks on the Jerusalem region since the construction of the security fence

  • Appendix
    1. List of the suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem

    2. List of the car bomb attacks in Jerusalem

The types of terrorist attacks carried out in Jerusalem

• Most of the attacks in Jerusalem during the past five years have been shooting attacks (288 incidents) and Molotov cocktails (220 incidents). However, more notable was the high number of suicide bombing attacks (30), the highest of any Israeli city (the latest of which was in September 2004). It should be noted that the high number of stabbings (31 incidents) is also peculiar to Jerusalem. However, most of the casualties were caused by suicide bombing attacks.

• The following chart shows the types of attacks carried out in Jerusalem: The deaths caused by various types of attacks

• The above graph makes it clear that the overwhelming majority of deaths (174 Israelis) were caused by the 30 suicide bombing attacks. Twenty-one civilians were shot to death and nine were stabbed.

Suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem

Overview

• Most of the suicide bombing attacks were carried out against civilian targets. Their aim was to kill indiscriminately as many innocent victims as possible. They achieved their aim in that 174 innocent Israelis were killed in 30 suicide bombing attacks; that is, about 5% of all the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem led to 82% of the deaths.

• Most of the suicide bombing attacks (17) were carried out in 2002. It should be noted that during 2005 there were no such attacks in Jerusalem, although there were attempts which were foiled.

Types of targets

• The civilian targets of most of the suicide bombing attacks:
  • Urban and inter-urban buses and bus stops were the preferred targets. The most prominent attacks were on the number 2 bus (23 killed, most of them returning from praying at the Western Wall), on the bus in the Gilo neighborhood (19 killed during rush hour) and on the number 14 bus (17 killed).

  • Places of entertainment, including restaurants, shopping malls, cafés and clubs: The deadliest attack was at the Sbarro pizzeria (19 killed).

  • Populated areas and crowded locations such as markets, pedestrian malls, main streets: Among those carried out in populated areas, the deadliest was at the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall (11 killed).

Suicide bombing attacks according to the distribution of terrorist organizations

• An examination of the attacks shows that the various factions of Fatah (Tanzim and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades) and Hamas carried out most of the attacks. Each of the two organizations was responsible for 13 attacks (33.8%). Lagging behind is the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) (three attacks); one attack was carried out by a non-affiliated terrorist.

• It should be noted that the distribution of suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem is slightly different from the overall distribution of the rest of the country. So far (October 2005) overall Hamas has carried out 57 such attacks, or 40% of the total; the PIJ has carried out 38, or 25% of the total. Fatah (Tanzim and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades) 33 attacks, or 23% of the total, but in Jerusalem its attacks, as noted above, equal those of Hamas.

Distribution of suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem according to organization

After the suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem's Zion Square: 11 killed, more than 170 wounded (Photo courtesy of Reinhard Kraus, Reuters)

Involvement of East Jerusalem Arabs in terrorist attacks

• Since the beginning of the current violent confrontation (September 2000), Arabs who live in East Jerusalem (and carry Israeli ID cards) have been conspicuously involved in terrorist attacks in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem. As a result of their participation, 186 Israelis have been killed and 1,171 wounded. The number of dead is about 20% of all Israelis killed by terrorist activities since September 2000 (of a total of 1,069 killed to date, about 70% of them civilians).[2]

• Most of the terrorist attacks in which East Jerusalem Arabs were involved were initiated by Hamas infrastructures in Hebron and Ramallah, and those of Fatah/Tanzim in Bethlehem. In recent years residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Dis were also involved. One possible reason may be the Abu Dis College (a branch of Al-Quds University ), a source of unrest and a meeting place for Arabs living in Jerusalem and Palestinians from the Palestinian Authority (PA)-administered territories.

• East Jerusalem Arabs are involved in the following ways:
  • Exploiting their familiarity with the city to collect information and choose potential targets.

  • Exploiting their Israeli identity cards to infiltrate terrorists and/or weapons to the terrorist attack targets.

  • Direct involvement in the attack.

• Palestinians from the PA-administered territories, particularly Samaria, living in the Jerusalem area also aided in carrying out attacks within the green line even though they do not carry documents enabling them to move freely within Israeli territory. However, they are familiar with the area and have close personal, family and social ties with Arabs living in Jerusalem.

• One example is the suicide bombing attack attempt at Café Caffit in the German Colony. The attempted attack, directed by the Hamas infrastructure in Hebron, apparently failed because of a technical problem with the detonator. Arab residents of East Jerusalem, having been recruited by Palestinians living in the area, were involved in preparing the attack, helped collect information, pointed out potential targets and drove the suicide bomber to the café.

Focusing terrorist attacks on the Jerusalem region since the construction of the security fence

• The purpose of the security fence is first and foremost to complicate and frustrate the attempts of terrorist-operatives to infiltrate Israeli territory. The first section was completed in July 2003, 130 kilometers (about 81 miles ) through Samaria from Elkana to Salem. Concurrently, two other sections were completed north and south of Jerusalem. The second section of 60 kilometers (about 37 miles ), running for Salem to the Jordanian border (south of Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi), is about two-thirds finished. Final construction is expected to be completed in the near future.
  An illustration of the security fence (from the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Internet site)

• The security fence as it is completed in Samaria makes it difficult for the terrorist infrastructures in the area to infiltrate their operatives into Israel. They therefore try to get around it by using a variety of methods: taking routes through areas where the fence has not yet been built and using the gates built into the fence for the passage of agricultural workers and vehicles.

• As long as parts of the security fence have not been completed, Jerusalem is even more attractive as a target for terrorist attacks: compared with Judea and Samaria it is still relatively wide open because the fence does not encircle the city. The Palestinian terrorist organizations regard the area around Jerusalem as an Achilles' heel, a literal "hole in the wall," which will enable them to infiltrate terrorist-operatives and weapons by avoiding Israel's network of roadblocks.

• The attempts to move terrorist-operative logistic bases from Judea and Samaria to Jerusalem has increased the terrorist organizations' need for support from local residents.

• A number of examples of suicide bombing attacks follow (some of them carried out and some of them foiled) in which Jerusalem was either the preferred target or a route from the West Bank to Israel:

  • An attack foiled in the Ramot neighborhood: At the end of May 2005, PIJ operatives from Judea handled by the organization's infrastructure in Tulkarm and Jenin attempted to carry out an attack in the Ramot neighborhood. It was to have taken place on a bus or in a café or synagogue. Two suicide bombers arrived in Beit Hanina (about midway between Ramallah and Jerusalem ) from Samaria. Local operatives made a number of attempts to infiltrate them into the city but failed.[3]

    
    Bags carrying explosives found in the possession of the would-be suicide bombers near Beit Hanina and detonated by security force engineers (Photo courtesy of the IDF Spokesman)

  • On September 22, 2004 a suicide bombing attack was carried out in the French Hill neighborhood by a female terrorist who blew herself up when the border guards examined her. In the attack two border guards were killed and 17 wounded. Responsible for the attack was the Fatah/Tanzim cell in Nablus, which had infiltrated the suicide bomber through Jerusalem and brought her to the French Hill.
    An attempt to turn the suicide bomber into a role model: her head lying on the ground near French Hill crossroads on September 22, 2004. The caption under the original pictur reads "the perpetrator of the suicide bombing attack, Zaynab Abu Salem. Her head was severed from her pure body and her headscarf remained to decorate [her face]. Your place is in heaven in the upper skies, oh, Zaynab... sister [raised to the status of heroic] men (Al 'Fateh, No. 38, Hamas's children's online magazine...)

  • An attack foiled in Afula: On September 22, 2004, a suicide bombing attack in Afula was foiled when a large explosive device was discovered in the region of Deir Hana in the Galilee. It had been intended for use in a joint attack carried out by Fatah/Tanzim and PIJ operatives from the Jenin district. The device was hidden in a sack of flour and transported into Israel by a Palestinian living in Israel. He and his family were brought to Israel by various Palestinian drivers who changed cars and drove on dirt roads and took detours. They went from the village of Yamoun (west of Jenin) through Tulkarm to Jerusalem and from there to the village of Mughar (in the eastern Galilee ).

  • An explosive device detonated at a border guard roadblock: On August 11, 2004, fifteen kilograms ( 33 lbs ) of explosives were detonated at the Qalandia roadblock north of Jerusalem, killing six border police and two civilians. Two Palestinians were also killed and six were wounded. After the attacks, operatives from Jenin were detained. Under interrogation they revealed that their plan had been to infiltrate a suicide bomber for an attack in Haifa, but there were instructions that he was to attack any city in Israel if he could not reach the target. The terrorist came by taxi from the village of Arabeh in the Jenin district. In a second taxi driving behind them there was an explosive device hidden under a crate of vegetables. The two vehicles drove in tandem towards Tulkarm and from there to Ramallah until they reached A-Ram, to the northeast of Jerusalem. In A-Ram the operatives bought a baby carriage to hide the device in until they reached Haifa. When the operatives realized they would not be able to reach there original target, they detonated the device at a Border Guard roadblock.

  • An attack foiled at Café Filter: On August 2, 2004, a suicide bombing attack at a café failed when a Fatah/Tanzim operative was arrested. He had planned to carry out the attack at Café Filter, where he worked as a cook. The Palestinian terrorist, 20, single, living in the Bethlehem district, had, as a resident of East Jerusalem, an Israeli ID card. He had been recruited for the suicide bombing attack six months earlier and finally decided to commit it because of psychological pressure caused by suspicions that he had collaborated with Israel. Later, when he saw the explosive belt, he changed his mind and decided not to carry out the attack.

Appendix

List of the suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem since the beginning of the current violent confrontation (as of November 6, 2005)

1. March 27, 2001: an explosive device was detonated by a suicide bomber next to a bus at the French Hill intersection. Twenty-one civilians wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

2. August 9, 2001: a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Sbarro pizzeria. Fifteen killed and 110 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

3. December 1, 2001: two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Zion Square, and a few minutes later a car bomb exploded. Ten killed and 154 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

4. December 4, 2001: a suicide bomber blew himself up on Hanevi'im street. Thirteen wounded. The organization responsible: the PIJ.

5. December 5, 2001: a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the (former) Hilton Hotel in the Mamila neighborhood. Five wounded. The organization responsible: the PIJ.

6. January 27, 2002: a female suicide bomber blew herself up on Jaffa street. One killed and 127 wounded.

7. February 6, 2002: a suicide bomber about to blow himself up on a bus from Jerusalem to Ma'aleh Adumim was captured. There were no casualties. The organization responsible: Hamas.

8. February 18, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up in a car laden with explosives at a roadblock on the Ma'aleh Adumim road. One policeman killed and two wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah.

9. February 27, 2002: a female suicide bomber blew herself up at a roadblock. Three border guards wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Tanzim.

10. March 2, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of Israeli civilians on Haim Ozer street. Eleven killed and 46 wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

11. March 7, 2002: a suicide bomber attempted to detonate the explosives he had on his person at Café Caffit. There were no casualties. The organization responsible: Hamas.

12. March 9, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to Café Moment. Eleven killed and 58 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

13. March 17, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus on the French Hill. Twenty-five wounded. The organization responsible: the PIJ.

14. March 21, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up on King George street. Three killed and 71 wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

15. March 29, 2002: a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the entrance to a supermarket in the Kiriyat Yovel neighborhood. Two killed and 22 wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Tanzim.

16. April 1, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up during a routine police check of suspicious vehicles. One policeman killed. The organization responsible: Fatah/Tanzim.

17. April 12, 2002: a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the entrance to the Mahane Yehuda market. Six killed and 66 wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Tanzim.

18. June 18, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus on Dov Yosef street. Nineteen killed and 38 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

19. June 19, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop at the French Hill intersection. Seven killed and 39 wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Tanzim.

20. July 30, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up at a falafel (a popular Israeli fast food) stand on Hanevi'im street in the city center. Five wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

21. November 21, 2002: a suicide bomber blew himself up on a number 20 bus on Mexico street. Eleven killed and 51 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

22. December 28, 2002: a car bomb carrying a suicide bomber exploded at the Russian Compound. There were no casualties. The suicide bomber was unaffiliated.

23. May 18, 2003: a suicide bomber blew himself up at the A-Ram roadblock. There were no casualties. The organization responsible: Hamas.

24. May 18, 2003: a suicide bomber blew himself up on a number 6 bus on the French Hill. Seven killed and 20 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

26. June 11, 2003: a suicide bomber disguised as an ultra-orthodox Jew blew himself up on a number 14 bus. Seventeen killed and 104 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

26. August 19, 2003: a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus on Shmuel Hanavi street in the Beit Israel neighborhood. Twenty-three killed and 116 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

27. September 9, 2003: a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to Café Hillel on Emek Refaim street. Seven killed and 70 wounded. The organization responsible: Hamas.

28. January 29, 2004: a suicide bomber blew himself up on the number 19 bus on Gaza Street. Eleven killed and 43 wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

29. February 22, 2004: a suicide bomber blew himself up on a number 14 bus near the Liberty Bell Park. Eight killed and 59 wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah/Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades

30. September 22, 2004: a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the French Hill intersection. Two border guards killed and 14 Israelis wounded. The organization responsible: Fatah.

A total of 30 suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem killing 174 Israelis.

List of the car bomb attacks in Jerusalem since the beginning of the current violent confrontation (as of November 6, 2005)

1. November 2, 2000: a car bomb exploded on Shomron street. Two killed and 11 wounded.

2. February 8, 2001: a car bomb exploded on Beit Israeli street in Mea Shearim. Ten wounded.

3. March 21, 2001: a car bomb was discovered and dismantled in the orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim. There were no casualties.

4. March 27, 2001: a car bomb exploded in the Talpiot industrial zone. Eleven wounded.

5. May 26, 2001: a car bomb exploded on Zmora street close to the Russian Compound. Six wounded.

6. May 27, 2001: a car bomb exploded at the corner of Jaffa and Cheshin streets. Twenty-one wounded.

7. July 29, 2001: a car bomb exploded in the underground parking lot of an apartment complex on Moshe Dayan boulevard in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood. Three wounded.

8. August 21, 2001: a car bomb exploded at the corner of Horcanus and Heleni Hamalka streets close to the Russian Compound. There were no casualties.

9. September 3, 2001: an explosive device in the trunk of a commercial vehicle belonging to the Jerusalem municipality exploded on Plotzki street. Six wounded.

10. October 1, 2001: a car bomb exploded on Bethlehem street. Three wounded.

11. December 3, 2001: a car bomb exploded on Haganah street in the commercial center of the French Hill. Four wounded.

A total of 11 car bomb attacks (one in 2000 and ten in 2001) in Jerusalem, killing 2 Israelis.

FOOTNOTES

1. Based on an Israel Security Agency (ISA) report with additions from the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies.

2. According to data supplied by the ISA as of November 7, 2005.

3. For further information see our Special Bulletin" Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide bombing attacks in Jerusalem foiled,

 
Dr. Reuven Erlich (Colonel, Ret.) is director of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) in Israel. He can be reached by email at mlm@intelligence.org.il

This article was published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) November 8, 2005.

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