| Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of theSecond Intifada militancy campaign | |
 The attack aftermath | |
  The attack site | |
| Native name | הפיגוע בקו 37 |
| Location | 32°47′50″N34°59′03″E / 32.79722°N 34.98417°E /32.79722; 34.98417 Haifa,Israel |
| Date | 5 March 2003; 22 years ago (2003-03-05) |
| Target | Bus |
Attack type | Suicide attack |
| Weapon | Suicide vest |
| Deaths | 17 (+ 1 bomber) |
| Injured | 53 |
| Perpetrator | Hamas |
| Participant | 1 |
TheHaifa bus 37 suicide bombing was aPalestinian suicide bombing carried out on 5 March 2003 on anEgged bus inHaifa,Israel. 17 passengers were killed in the attack and 53 were injured.[1] Many of the victims were university students from nearbyHaifa University.[2]
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomber was 20-year-old Mahmoud Umdan Salim Qawasmeh, a student at thePalestine Polytechnic University. AnIsraeli Arab resident of Haifa who helped plan the attack was also tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement.[3]
The attack occurred on 5 March 2003, when asuicide bomber fromHebron detonated a bomb hidden underneath his clothes on a bus carrying many children and teenagers on their way home from school.[4] The bus exploded as it was pulling out of station on Moriyah Street, a main traffic artery near the Carmeliya neighborhood, heading from theBat Galim neighborhood to theUniversity of Haifa. The explosion occurred while the bus was packed with commuters. The attack killed 17 people and wounded 53.[5] Police said the bomb, strapped to the bomber's body, was laden with metal shrapnel in order to maximize the number of injuries.[1]
Spokesmen from Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised the attack. "We will not stop our resistance," saidAbd al-Aziz Rantisi of Hamas. "We are not going to give up in the face of the daily killing of Palestinians."[5] In response, Israeli helicopters killed Hamas leaderIbrahim al-Makadmeh and three of his bodyguards.[6]
On 18 October 2011, Israel released three people convicted of planning the attack, Maedh Waal Taleb Abu Sharakh (19 life sentences), Majdi Muhammad Ahmed Amr (19 life sentences) and Fadi Muhammad Ibrahim al-Jaaba (18 life sentences), as part of theGilad Shalit prisoner exchange.[7][8]
