| 2nd Rosh Ha'ir restaurant bombing | |
|---|---|
  The attack site  The attack site | |
| Native name | הפיגוע בדוכן השווארמה ראש העיר |
| Location | 32°3′35″N34°46′42″E / 32.05972°N 34.77833°E /32.05972; 34.77833 Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Date | 17 April 2006; 19 years ago (2006-04-17) 13:30 pm (UTC+2) |
Attack type | Suicide attack |
| Weapon | 5 kilograms (11 lb)explosive device |
| Deaths | 11 civilians (+1 bomber) |
| Injured | 70 civilians |
| Perpetrator | Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility; Syria held responsible by U.S. |
| Participant | 1 |
The2nd Rosh Ha'ir restaurant bombing was aPalestinian suicide bombing on 17 April 2006 at Rosh Ha'irshawarma restaurant inTel Aviv,Israel. Eleven Israeli civilians were killed in the attack and 70 were injured, in the deadliest attack in Israel in nearly two years.
The Palestinian militant organizationIslamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the terror attack, the seventh suicide bombing in Israel since Palestinian groups had agreed to a ceasefire in February 2005.
The attack was the second suicide bombing at the Rosh Ha’ir restaurant in 2006. Theprevious attack, on 19 January 2006, injured 31 people.[1]
On April 17, 2006, Sami Salim Mohammed Hammed, aPalestinian student fromJenin, conducted a suicide attack using 5 kilograms (11 lb) of explosives in a bag filled with nails and metal shards at the Rosh Ha'ir" shawarma restaurant near theTel Aviv Central Bus Station. At the time, the restaurant was crowded for lunch. The blast killed 11 civilians and injured more than 60. It was the deadliest attack in Israel in two years.[2][3]
ThePalestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as Sami Salim Hamad from nearJenin in northernWest Bank. According to theGuardian, an Islamic Jihad cell had conducted six of the seven previous suicide bombings in Israel since Palestinian groups had agreed to a ceasefire in February 2005.[3]
Israel:Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir stated that Israel heldHamas responsible for the attacks, accusing the Hamas of "giving support to all the other terrorist organizations".[4]
State of Palestine:Mahmoud Abbas, President of thePalestinian Authority said violence was against Palestinian interests and urged the international community to encourage peace negotiations.[3]
Hamas: Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry, called the attack "a direct result of the policy of the occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people."[3]
United States: TheBush administration strongly criticized the attacks, calling it "a despicable act of terror for which there is no excuse or justification."[4]Islamic Jihad leader Elias Ashkar, who Israel accused of being behind the attack, was killed by Israeli troops in the village ofQabatiya, together with other four Palestinians, on 14 May 2006.[5]
The family ofDaniel Wultz won a case in May 2012 in a U.S.District Court against Iran and Syria for their supporting "Palestinian militants" in this suicide bombing attack. The amount of the judgement was for $323,000,000 and represented the first time that a U.S. court issued a judgment against Syria for terror related activities.[6]
