2002 in Israel

Events in the year 2002 in Israel.

Incumbents President of Israel – Moshe Katsav Prime Minister of Israel – Ariel Sharon President of the Supreme Court – Aharon Barak Chief of General Staff – Shaul Mofaz to July 9 Moshe Ya'alon Government of Israel – 29th Government of Israel

Events

January 28 – Channel 10 begins broadcasting. March 28 – 20,000 IDF reservists called up. 25 May – Sarit Hadad represents Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Nadlik Beyakhad Ner" ("We'll Light a Candle Together"). May 28 – The Israeli reconnaissance satellite Ofek-5 is launched. April 1 – 20,000 Israeli army reservists mobilized. July 9 – Moshe Ya'alon is appointed as the 17th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. July 23 – The Tal Law is passed in the Knesset by a majority of 51 against 41. The law gives legal status to the continuation of the exemption from mandatory military service granted to Israeli Ultra Orthodox Jews studying at a yeshiva. August 28 – The government of Israel notified the United Nations Secretary General that it no longer intended to ratify the Rome Statute after signing it on December 31, 2000. October 9 – Daniel Kahneman receives the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his work in Prospect theory, becoming the first Israeli Nobel laureate in economics. November 28 – 2002 Mombasa attacks: Three Israelis and 10 Kenyans are killed when a car bomb exploded in the lobby of the Israeli-owned beachfront Paradise Hotel, frequented almost exclusively by Israeli tourists near Mombasa in Kenya. 21 Israelis and 60 Kenyans are wounded in the attack. About 20 minutes earlier, an unsuccessful attempt is made to shoot down an Arkia Israel Airlines Boeing 757 chartered tourist plane taking off from nearby Moi International Airport using surface-to-air missiles; nobody is hurt on the plane, which lands safely in Tel Aviv. The main suspect for both attacks is al Qaeda.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

(also see Second Intifada)

The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 2002 include: February 19 – Israel Defense Forces used explosives to destroy the five-storey main building and transmission tower of the Palestine Broadcasting Center in Ramallah claiming retaliation for the killing of six people by a Palestinian gunman linked to Fatah. The Israeli Government later singled out PBC for broadcasting material deemed to be anti-Semitic or that incited violence against Israeli citizens during the Second Intifada.BBC News Online, 'Palestinians seek $10m for radio attack', January 24, 2002. April – The Israeli government approved the construction of a continuous security barrier which would separate the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Israeli population centers, thus prevent the infiltration of Palestinian Arab terrorists, particularly suicide bombers into Israeli population centers. August 14 – The Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti is sentenced to five life sentences after being convicted by a civilian Israeli court on charges of murdering Israeli civilians and membership in a terrorist organisation.

Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets

The most prominent Palestinian militant acts and operations committed against Israeli targets during 2002 include: January 9 – Two Hamas militants from Rafah attack an IDF outpost near the Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza-Egyptian border killing four IDF soldiers of a Bedouin unit before being killed themselves.Journal of Palestine Studies. XXXI, no. 3 (Spring 2002), University of California Press, pp. 172-194. January 18 – An al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade (AMB) gunman opens fire killing six Israelis before being killed himself at a Bat Mitzvah celebration in Hadera. January 22 – AMB gunman kills two in West Jerusalem before being shot dead by police. January 25 – 20 people are injured by a suicide bombing attack by Islamic Jihad (PIJ) near the Old Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. January 27 – A suicide bombing attack kills an elderly Israeli and injures 7 people in Jerusalem. The attack marks the first time a female suicide bomber is used. Fatah claims responsibility for the attack. Wafa Idriss had been working as a volunteer for the Palestinian Red Crescent. January 30 – Attempting Palestinian suicide bomber Murad Abu al-Asal injures two Shin Bet handlers in Tayibe. February 10 – Two Hamas gunmen kill two soldiers and wound four outside an IDF base in Beersheva before being shot dead. February 14 – The AMB and PFLP both claim responsibility for a roadside bomb in Gaza which destroys a Merkava tank and kills 3 soldiers. February 16 – Two Israeli teenagers are killed in a suicide bombing at a pizzeria in the Israeli settlement of Karnei Shomron in the northern West Bank. Another Israeli teenage girl is wounded in the attack and dies 11 days later. The PFLP claims responsibility.Journal of Palestine Studies XXXI, no. 4 (Summer 2002), University of California Press, pp 199-221 February 18 – One soldier killed in a suicide car bombing in Ma'ale Adumim. February 18 – An AMB suicide bombing attack kills three Jewish settlers in Kissufim crossing -. February 19 – AMB gunman kills six Israeli soldiers at an army outpost north of Jerusalem. The gunman escapes. February 22 – An attempting suicide bomber is shot dead by patrons at a supermarket in Efrat. February 27 – A female suicide bomber armed by AMB, injures three soldiers in Maccabim. March 2 – 11 people, including five children, are killed in an AMB suicide bombing near a yeshiva in the Haredi Beit Yisrael neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem. March 3 – An AMB sniper kills seven soldiers and three settlers at a checkpoint near Ofra. The gunman escapes. March 4 – An AMB gunman kills three Israelis in Tel Aviv before being shot dead. March 5 – An 85-year-old Israeli is killed when in a suicide bombing attack on an Egged bus No. 823 as it enters the Afula central bus station. March 5 – Three Israeli civilians, including a Druze policeman and 35 injured at a Seafood Market restaurant on Begin Road, Tel-Aviv, by Tanzim gunman Ibrahim Hasouna assisted by Mazen Mahmoud Omar Khadi and Marad Nazmi Aglon. March 7 – Five Jewish settlers are killed and 23 are wounded by a Hamas gunman in Atzmona before being shot dead. A PFLP suicide bomber injures five settlers in Ariel. March 9 – 11 Israelis killed and 54 injured in a Hamas suicide bombing attack on a cafe in Jerusalem. Two AMB gunmen kill two Israelis, plus one Israeli Arab, and wound 24, in Netanya before being shot dead. March 14 – The AMB and PFLP both claim responsibility for a roadside bomb in Gaza which destroys a Merkava tank and kills 3 soldiers. March 17 – A PIJ suicide bombing attack on Egged bus No. 22 in French Hill injures 9. March 20 – Seven Israelis, four soldiers and three civilians, killed in a PIJ suicide bombing attack on an Egged bus No. 823 traveling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth. March 21 – Three Israelis are killed and 86 others are injured in an AMB suicide bombing attack, King George Street shoppers in the center of Jerusalem. The bomber used metal spikes and nails. March 27 – 30 people killed and at least 140 civilians injured in a Hamas suicide bombing attack on the dining room of the Park Hotel in Netanya, during the festive dinner for Passover arranged by the hotel for 250 guests, and detonates an explosive device. March 28 – Hamas suicide bomber kills four Jewish settlers at Elon Moreh. March 29 – Two people and 29 injured killed by an 18-year-old Palestinian female suicide bomber attacks the entrance of the Shufersal supermarket in Kiryat HaYovel. March 29 – Gunman enters and kills two Jewish settlers in Netzarim settlement. March 30 – Allenby Street coffee shop bombing 32 people injured in an AMB suicide bombing attack on a Tel Aviv café. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell (USA) call on Yasir Arafat to condemn the wave of suicide bombings in Arabic, to his own people. Israeli spokespeople make similar demands. Arafat goes on television and swears in Arabic that he will "die a martyr, a martyr, a martyr". Members of AMB state that they will refuse any form of cease-fire, and that they will continue suicide bombings of civilians in Israel. March 31 – Matza restaurant suicide bombing: 15 killed (including two whole families) and injuring over 40 people when a Hamas bomber attacks an Arab-owned restaurant in Haifa. March 31 – An MDA paramedic and four Jewish settlers injured in a suicide bombing attack at the Efrat Medical Center of Efrat in Gush Etzion. April 1 – A 19-year-old Israeli police volunteer is killed by a Palestinian Arab suicide bombing attack in the city center of Jerusalem at a roadblock. Fatah and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim responsibility for the attack. April 1 – Eleven Palestinian collaborators taken from Palestinian Authority prisons are killed. April 9 – Thirteen Israeli soldiers are killed in the Jenin refugee camp when a Palestinian militant detonates their occupying house. April 10 – Eight Israelis, four soldiers and four civilians, are killed and 22 injured in a Hamas suicide bombing on an Egged bus No. 960, en route from Haifa to Jerusalem, which exploded near Kibbutz Yagur, east of Haifa. April 12 – Mahane Yehuda Market bombing: A Palestinian Arab female suicide bomber attacks the entrance to Mahane Yehuda in Jerusalem, killing seven Israelis and injuring 104. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claims responsibility for the attack. April 27 – Two Hamas fighters in Israeli army uniform kill five Jewish settlers in Adora. One of the attackers escapes. May 7 – Sheffield Club bombing: A Palestinian Arab suicide bomber kills 15 and wounds 58 in a billiards hall that accommodated an illegal gambling club in Rishon LeZion. Hamas' military wing claims responsibility. The political wing does not confirm. May 8 – A Palestinian Arab suicide bomber severely injured in a premature attack near Megiddo, southeast of Haifa. May 19 – A Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) suicide bomber, disguised as an Israeli soldier, kills two Israelis and injures more than 50 in Netanya. May 20 – Afula road bombing. One Israeli patrol-man injured. May 22 – Rothschild Street bombing: Two Israelis (one of them a teenager) are killed in an AMB suicide bombing in Rothschild Street in the center of Rishon LeZion. May 23 – A Palestinian detonates an IED on the underside of an oil tanker truck at Pi Glilot fuel storage facility station, injuring no one with authorities estimating that the chain reaction explosions would have killed at least 10,000 in the area. May 24 – Studio 49 Disco bombing. An AMB suicide car bomb injures three. May 27 – Petah Tikva Mall bombing: An Israeli woman and her 14 month old granddaughter, are killed and 37 injured when an AMB suicide bomber detonated himself near an ice cream parlor outside a shopping mall in Petah Tikva. The attacker was cousin of Nablus AMB commander assassinated May 22. May 28 – Itamar. Palestinian gunman kills three Jewish settlers before being shot dead. June 5 – 17 Israelis, fourteen soldiers and three civilians, are killed in a car bomb attack on an Egged bus No. 830 en route from Tel Aviv to Tiberias at the Megiddo junction near Afula of the gasoline tank side of the bus causing incineration. Most of the casualties are IDF soldiers who are on their way to their bases. PIJ claims responsibility for the attack. June 7 – In Karmei Tsur, Hebron, two PFLP gunmen kill three Jewish settlers. One attacker is shot dead, the other escapes. June 11 – A 14-year-old Israeli girl killed and 15 injured in a suicide bombing attack on the Jamil (Mifgash Ha'Sharon) restaurant in the Israeli coastal suburb of Herzliya."PA town square memorial honors suicide terrorist and his attack as 'heroic,'" Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, August 19, 2020, Palestine Media Watch.