2003 Palestinian terror attack in Haifa, Israel
The
Maxim restaurant bombing
was a
suicide bombing
which occurred on October 4, 2003, in the beachfront "Maxim" restaurant in
Haifa
,
Israel
. Twenty-one civilians were killed and 60 were injured. Among the victims were two families and four children, including a two-month-old baby.
The restaurant, which is located at the seafront near the southern boundary of the city of Haifa, was frequently attended by both Arab and Jewish local populations, and was widely seen as a symbol of peaceful coexistence in Haifa.
The militant organization
Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility for the attack. It was condemned by Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat
.
The restaurant's interior was destroyed by the blast (it was completely rebuilt seven months after the attack).
Background
The Maxim restaurant is a beachfront restaurant located near the south entry to Haifa. It is co-owned by Jews and Christian Arabs, and is known for being a symbol of co-existence.
[1]
[2]
The attack
On October 4, 2003, at 14:10 pm, the 28-year-old
Palestinian
suicide bomber
Hanadi Jaradat
detonated the
explosive belt
she was wearing inside the Arab-Jewish Maxim restaurant in
Haifa
. 21
Israelis
(18 Jews and 3 Arabs) were killed, and 60 others were wounded.
[4]
The bomb included metal fragments packed around the explosive core, that sprayed around the restaurant, maximizing lethal effect.
[5]
According to Haifa police sources, the aftermath was gruesome, with some of the dead still sitting upright at their tables, while others, including children and babies, were slammed against the walls. Due to the force of the explosion, all that remained of Jaradat was her head.
[5]
Among the victims were two families and four children, including a two-month-old baby. Three
Maccabi Haifa
officials were lightly injured in the bombing.
[6]
The assailant
The suicide bomber, 28-year-old Hanadi Jaradat (
Arabic
:
????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????
) from
Jenin
, was the sixth
female suicide bomber
of the
Al-Aqsa Intifada
and the second woman recruited by
Islamic Jihad
.
[7]
When she was 21, her fiance had been killed by Israeli security forces.
[8]
At the time of her suicide bombing, Jaradat was a law student due to qualify as a lawyer in a few weeks. According to a story in
Ha'aretz
, based on Arab media and interviews with Israeli and Arab sources, she agreed to the bombing after
Israel Defense Forces
undercover operatives in
Jenin
killed her cousin (Salah, 34), and her younger brother (Fadi, 25), both of whom were accused by Israeli forces of being Islamic Jihad operatives, with her cousin being considered to be a senior member of the
Al-Quds Brigades
group.
[7]
Israeli response
The day following the suicide bombing, the Israeli Army demolished the home of Jaradat's family, and the homes of two neighbors who were uninvolved in the bombing.
[9]
In response to the attack, which Israel claimed was planned in the
Damascus
headquarters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an alleged
terrorist training camp
in Ain es-Saheb,
Syria
,
was bombed
by four
Israeli Air Force
jets. One person was injured, and munitions were allegedly destroyed during the strike.
[10]
Jamal Mahadjne, an Israeli-Arab from
Umm al-Fahm
, was arrested within hours of the attack for driving Jaradat to her destination. Mahadjne had regularly taken fees for illegally driving Palestinians to Israel, taking advantage of his
Israeli identity card
to cross the border without difficulty. He confessed his actions to
Shin Bet
agents, and was indicted before the Haifa District Court for being an accessory to murder and for other crimes relating to his illegal activities on November 10.
[11]
On November 7,
Israel Defense Forces
troops arrested senior Islamic Jihad militant Amjad Abeidi, who planned the attack, along with a number of other suicide bombings, during an operation in
Jenin
. During the operation, Jenin was placed under curfew as soldiers searched homes. One Palestinian teenager was shot dead while climbing a tank, and three Palestinians were wounded. The complex in which Abeidi was hiding was located and searched, and a weapons cache was found. After a grenade was thrown into the cache, Abeidi was lightly wounded and surrendered. As the soldiers left Jenin with Abeidi, Palestinian militants opened fire at them, and the soldiers returned fire. One militant, a member of the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
, was killed. Abeidi was handed over to
Shin Bet
for interrogation.
[12]
In 2017 Oran Almog, one of the victims of the attack, addressed the United Nations Security Council to demand that the Palestinian Authority cease incentivizing terrorism by paying
stipends to terrorists
.
[13]
Official reactions
Israeli prime minister
Ariel Sharon
stated that Israel held Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat
responsible for the attack.
[14]
Arafat condemned the bombing.
[15]
U.S. President
George W. Bush
condemned the attack, calling it a "murderous action" and a "despicable attack".
[16]
Aftermath
In response to his daughter's actions, her father Taisir declined all condolences, instead saying that he was proud of what his daughter had done, and that "I will accept only congratulations for what she did. This was a gift she gave me, the homeland and the Palestinian people."
[17]
In October 2012, the Arab Lawyers Union awarded their top award to Hanadi Jaradat, and sent a delegation to her family to present them with the award. Ayman Abu Eisheh, who is a member of the Palestine Committee at the Arab Lawyers Union, explained that the lawyers were proud of Jaradat, saying that suicide bombing was "in defense of Palestine and the Arab nation."
[18]
Although the interior of the restaurant was destroyed in the attack, it was quickly rebuilt and reopened within several months.
[19]
A monument was erected near the restaurant in memory of the victims killed in the attack.
[20]
See also
References
- ^
Gilbert, Martin (2012).
The Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
. Routledge. p. 216.
ISBN
9780415699754
.
Archived
from the original on October 4, 2023
. Retrieved
October 19,
2020
.
- ^
Arab-Jewish Restaurant Refuses to Stop Serving Its Coexistence Recipe
Archived
October 3, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
. Haaretz, 17 October 2015
- ^
Meotti, Giulio (2010).
A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism
. New York: Encounter Books. p. 187.
ISBN
978-1-59403-477-0
.
- ^
"Suicide bombing of Maxim restaurant in Haifa-4-Oct-2003"
.
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
. State of Israel. January 21, 2004.
Archived
from the original on October 6, 2020
. Retrieved
October 2,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Cult of the FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER. The Sunday Times Magazine (Perth, W. Australia). By KEVIN TOOLIS, pp 12?15, September 10, 2006
- ^
Eyewitness: 'Dead children and babies
Archived
August 25, 2018, at the
Wayback Machine
. BBC, 4 October 2003
- ^
a
b
Arnon Regular,
Profile of the Haifa suicide bomber.
Archived
February 16, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine
October 5, 2003; www.haaretz.com.
- ^
David Blair, "Revenge sparked suicide bombing". The
Daily Telegraph
via The
Ottawa Citizen
, October 6, 2003: A9.
- ^
David Blair, "Revenge sparked suicide bombing".
The Daily Telegraph
via
The Ottawa Citizen
, October 6, 2003: A9.
- ^
Crean, Ellen (October 5, 2003).
"Israel Strikes Base Inside Syria"
. CBS/AP.
Archived
from the original on October 26, 2012
. Retrieved
January 30,
2018
.
- ^
"Israeli Arab Citizen Indicted for Part in Maxim Restaurant Attack ? Latest News Briefs ? Arutz Sheva"
. Israelnationalnews.com. November 10, 2003.
Archived
from the original on October 6, 2014
. Retrieved
November 25,
2015
.
- ^
"Witnesses: Palestinian Killed in Jenin"
. Haaretz. November 6, 2003.
Archived
from the original on October 4, 2023
. Retrieved
December 7,
2011
.
- ^
"After Halamish attack, Israel demands UN address PA terror payments"
. Times of Israel. January 25, 2017.
Archived
from the original on July 25, 2017
. Retrieved
July 25,
2017
.
- ^
"The Day ? Google News Archive Search"
. Archived from
the original
on July 12, 2012.
- ^
[1]
Archived
February 20, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Green, Michele (October 5, 2003).
"Female Bomber Kills 19 In Israeli Suicide Strike"
.
Daily News
.
Archived
from the original on November 19, 2011
. Retrieved
August 28,
2011
.
- ^
Vered Levy-Barzalai,
Ticking bomb.
Archived
January 6, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine
October 16, 2003; www.haaretz.com.
- ^
Abu Toameh, Khaled (October 13, 2012).
"Arab Lawyers Union honors Palestinian suicide bomber"
. The Jerusalem Post.
Archived
from the original on February 9, 2013
. Retrieved
October 21,
2012
.
- ^
"Haifa's Maxim restaurant reopens"
. Free Public/Jerusalem Post. December 8, 2003.
Archived
from the original on February 28, 2021
. Retrieved
February 5,
2018
.
- ^
"Relatives of victims of Maxim Haifa attack hold memorial"
.
Ynetnews
. Ynet News. October 4, 2013.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018
. Retrieved
February 5,
2018
.
External links
|
---|
Within Israel
|
- Azor attack
3
(February 14, 2001)
- Netanya bombing
2
(March 4, 2001)
- 1st HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing
(May 18, 2001)
- Dolphinarium discotheque massacre
2
(June 1, 2001)
- Binyamina train station suicide bombing
(July 16, 2001)
- Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing
2
(August 9, 2001)
- Nahariya train station suicide bombing
(September 9, 2001)
- Camp 80 junction bus 823 attack
(November 29, 2001)
- Ben Yehuda Street Bombings
(December 1, 2001)
- Haifa bus 16 suicide bombing
(December 2, 2001)
- Hadera attack
(January 18, 2002)
- Tel Aviv outdoor mall bombing
(January 25, 2002)
- Jaffa Street bombing
(January 27, 2002)
- Karnei Shomron Mall suicide bombing
(February 16, 2002)
- Yeshivat Beit Yisrael bombing
(March 2, 2002)
- Seafood Market attack
(March 5, 2002)
- Atzmona attack
(March 7, 2002)
- Cafe Moment bombing
(March 9, 2002)
- Matzuva attack
1
(March 12, 2002)
- Egged bus 823 bombing (March 20, 2002)
- King George Street bombing
(March 21, 2002)
- Passover massacre
(March 27, 2002)
- Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing
(March 29, 2002)
- Matza restaurant suicide bombing
(March 31, 2002)
- Yagur Junction bombing
(April 10, 2002)
- Mahane Yehuda Market bombing
(April 12, 2002)
- Rishon LeZion bombing
(May 7, 2002)
- Netanya Market bombing
(May 19, 2002)
- Pi Glilot bombing attempt
(May 23, 2002)
- Megiddo Junction bus bombing
(June 5, 2002)
- Herzliya shawarma restaurant bombing
(June 11, 2002)
- Patt Junction bus bombing
(June 18, 2002)
- Neve Shaanan Street bombing
(July 17, 2002)
- Hebrew University bombing
(July 31, 2002)
- Meron Junction Bus 361 attack
(August 4, 2002)
- Allenby Street bus bombing
(September 19, 2002)
- Karkur junction suicide bombing
(October 21, 2002)
- Metzer attack
(November 2, 2002)
- Kiryat Menachem bus bombing
(November 21, 2002)
- Beit She'an attack
(November 28, 2002)
- Tel Aviv central bus station massacre
(January 5, 2003)
- Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing
(March 5, 2003)
- Mike's Place suicide bombing
(April 30, 2003)
- Jerusalem bombings
(May 18, 2003)
- Afula mall bombing
(May 19, 2003)
- Davidka Square bus bombing
(June 11, 2003)
- Murder of Oleg Shaichat
(July 28, 2003)
- Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing
(August 19, 2003)
- Tzrifin bus stop attack
(September 9, 2003)
- Cafe Hillel bombing
(September 9, 2003)
- Maxim restaurant suicide bombing
(October 4, 2003)
- Geha Interchange bus stop bombing
(December 25, 2003)
- 2004 Erez Crossing bombing
3
(January 14, 2004)
- Gaza Street bus bombing
(January 29, 2004)
- Liberty Bell Park bus bombing
(February 22, 2004)
- Ashdod Port bombings
(March 14, 2004)
- Beersheba bus bombings
(August 31, 2004)
- Carmel Market bombing
(November 1, 2004)
- Karni border crossing attack
(January 13, 2005)
- Stage Club bombing
(February 25, 2005)
- 2nd HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing
(July 12, 2005)
- Hadera Market bombing
(October 26, 2005)
- 3rd HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing
(December 5, 2005)
- 2nd Rosh Ha'ir restaurant bombing
(April 17, 2006)
- Gaza cross-border raid
2
(June 25, 2006)
- Eilat bakery bombing
(January 29, 2007)
- Dimona suicide bombing
(February 4, 2008)
- Jerusalem yeshiva attack
(March 6, 2008)
- Jerusalem bulldozer attack
(July 2, 2008)
- Jerusalem BMW attack
(September 22, 2008)
|
---|
West Bank
|
- Ramallah lynching
(October 12, 2000)
- Murder of Ofir Rahum
(January 17, 2001)
- Assassination of the Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze'evi
2
(October 17, 2001)
- Murder of Shalhevet Pass
(March 26, 2001)
- Palestinian fatal stoning attack
(June 5, 2001)
- Immanuel bus attack
(December 12, 2001)
- Ein 'Arik checkpoint attack
(19 February 2002)
- Wadi al-Haramiya sniper attack
(March 3, 2002)
- French Hill Junction suicide bombing
(June 19, 2002)
- Itamar attack
(June 20, 2002)
- Immanuel bus attack
(July 16, 2002)
- Sonol gas station bombing
(October 27, 2002)
- Hebron ambush
(November 15, 2002)
- Yeshivat Otniel shooting
(December 27, 2002)
- Kidnapping and murder of Sasson Nuriel
(September 21, 2005)
- Kedumim bombing
(March 30, 2006)
- Murder of Eliyahu Asheri
(June 25, 2006)
- Nahal Telem shooting
(December 28, 2007)
- Bat Ayin axe attack
(April 2, 2009)
- Killing of Rabbi Meir Hai
(December 24, 2009)
|
---|
Gaza Strip
| |
---|
Other countries
| |
---|
1
Attacks launched from Lebanon
2
Attacks launched from the West Bank
3
Attacks launched from the Gaza Strip
1990s
2010s
|
|
---|
|
|
|
Diplomacy
|
---|
Timeline
| 1948?1991
| |
---|
1990s
| |
---|
2000s
| |
---|
2010s
| |
---|
|
---|
United Nations
| |
---|
|
|