On August 19, 2003, Palestinian militant Raed Abdel Hamid Misk, sent by the Hamas cell in Hebron, dressed as a Haredi Jew, boarded a crowded bus with Orthodox Jewish children returning from the Western Wall, and conducted a suicide bombing in the Shmuel HaNavi quarter in Jerusalem. Twenty-three civilians and 1 unborn child were killed, and over 130 were wounded. Many of the victims were children, some of them infants.

Attack On August 19, 2003 (22 Av 5763), a Hamas suicide bomber sent out by the organization's Hebron cell disguised himself as a Haredi Jew and detonated himself on a No. 2 Egged bus traveling through Jerusalem's Shmuel HaNavi neighborhood. He blew himself up after entering the back door. The double-length bus was crowded with Orthodox Jewish children returning from a visit to the Western Wall. In addition to the perpetrator, the huge explosion killed 7 children and 16 adults, among them Lilach Kardi who was eight months' pregnant, and injured more than 130 people. The bomb was spiked with ball-bearings designed to increase injuries on the crowded bus. Hamas said the bomber was a 29-year-old mosque preacher from the city of Hebron.

The people killed were:

Avraham Bar-Or, 12, of Jerusalem Binyamin Bergman, 15, of Jerusalem Yaakov Binder, 50, of Jerusalem Feiga Dushinski, 50, of Jerusalem Miriam Eisenstein, 20, of Bnei Brak Lilach Kardi, 22, of Jerusalem Menachem Leibel, 24, of Jerusalem Elisheva Meshulami, 16, of Bnei Brak Tehilla Nathanson, 3, of Zichron Ya'acov Chava Nechama Rechnitzer, 19, of Bnei Brak Mordechai Reinitz, 49, and Issachar Reinitz, 9, of Netanya Maria Antonia Reslas, 39, of the Philippines Liba Schwartz, 54, of Jerusalem Hanoch Segal, 65, of Bnei Brak Goldie Taubenfeld, 43, and Shmuel Taubenfeld, 3 months, of New Square, New York Rabbi Eliezer Weisfish, 42, of Jerusalem Shmuel Wilner, 50, of Jerusalem Shmuel Zargari, 11 months, of Jerusalem. Fruma Rahel Weitz, 73, of Jerusalem, died of her wounds on August 23. Mordechai Laufer, 27, of Netanya, died of his wounds on September 5. Tova Lev, 37, of Bnei-Brak, died of her wounds on September 12.

Because so many of the dead and injured were children, the media dubbed it the "children's bus". According to an Associated Press report,

Perpetrators Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack."The attack tonight was claimed by members of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Israeli police said the bomber was from Hamas." James Bennet, BOMBING KILLS 18 AND HURTS SCORES ON JERUSALEM BUS, The New York Times, August 20, 2003."The militant Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad both said they carried out the attack." Bus bomb carnage in Jerusalem, BBC News, August 20, 2003."...a bus bomb in Jerusalem earlier this week – for which both groups claimed responsibility – left 20 people dead." Roger Hardy, Analysis: End of roadmap?, BBC News, August 21, 2003.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas claimed responsibility for the operation and named 29-year old Hebron resident Raed Abdel Hamid Misk (kunya Abu al-Mu'min) as the perpetrator. According to the Brigades, Misk was born in Hebron on 24 January 1974 and educated at Al-Jazair School and the Sharia School for Boys. He was first arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent a year in Israeli jails.

To execute the operation, Misk disguised himself as a Jew, and boarded the double-decker bus after it had left Al-Buraq Square. At 9pm, he detonated a bomb and killed 25 people.

Aftermath The attack put an end to the so-called Hudna that had been announced in July 2003.

Israeli forces arrested 17 Palestinians suspected of being Hamas activists, including several of the bomber's relatives, while Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab and his two bodyguards were killed by an Israeli helicopter missile strike in Gaza.

In 2004 a memorial plaque to the victims was erected in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood of Jerusalem. The name of the only non-Jewish victim, Maria Antonia Reslas, was engraved separately from the names of the other victims, with the title "Mrs" rather than the title "sainted" (kadosh) used for the Jews, resulting in some controversy.A degrading memorial Haaretz, August 16, 2004

Reactions United States president George W. Bush sent his condolences to the victims' families. The European Commission also denounced what it called the "devastating terrorist attack" and called on the Palestinian Authority to intervene to bring a halt to such acts:The European Commission strongly condemns last night's devastating terrorist attack in Jerusalem and expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Israeli Government. This is an attack on all the forces working for peace. The European Commission calls on the Palestinian Authority to do everything in its powers to prevent such unacceptable and unjustified act of violence, and urges the PA and the Israeli Government to pursue their dialogue and common efforts towards peace as set out in the Road Map.

See also Dizengoff Center suicide bombing Israeli casualties of war Kiryat Menachem bus bombing Patt junction bus bombing Palestinian political violence

References

External links Bus bombing in Jerusalem kills at least 18, injures more than 100 – published on NPR on August 19, 2003 18 killed, over 110 hurt in Jerusalem bus bomb – published on Haaretz on August 20, 2003 Bus bomb carnage in Jerusalem – published on BBC News on August 20, 2003 Bomber his bus carrying Israeli families 18 die, 100 wounded; children among victims – published on the Boston Globe on August 20, 2003 Suicide bombing of No. 2 Egged bus in Jerusalem August 19, 2003 – published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs