The attack occurred on the night of March 27, when the traditional Jewish holiday of Passover was celebrated. The Park Hotel in Netanya held a large Passover dinner for its 250 guests, especially elderly Jews who didn't have family and relatives, in the ground-floor dining room. A Palestinian suicide bomber passed a security guard at the hotel's entrance, walked through the lobby passing the reception desk and entered the hotel's dining room where he detonated an explosive device he carried in a suitcase. Twenty-eight people were immediately killed, and about 140 were injured, of whom 20 were seriously injured. Two of the injured later died from their wounds. Some of the victims were Holocaust survivors.
Hamas claims responsibility
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomber was identified as Abdel-Basset Odeh, a 25-year-old from the nearby West Bank city of Tulkarem. Hamas claim that the attack were specifically designed to derail momentum from a recently announced peace offer from the Saudi government at the Beirut Summit.
On March 2008 Israel security arrested Hamas commander Omar Jabar the person claimed to have sent the bomber 
Reactions
Israel's reaction
In his response to the Saudi initiative adopted at the Beirut Summit, Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel Shimon Peres noted that "… the details of every peace plan must be discussed directly between Israel and the Palestinians, and to make this possible, the Palestinian Authority must put an end to terror, the horrifying expression of which we witnessed just last night in Netanya.
In the wake of the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his cabinet ordered the immediate recruitment of 20,000 reservists in an emergency call-up and the following day launched Operation Defensive Shield. (See also: Battle of Jenin 2002.)
Keis Adwan, the head of the suicide bombing network in northern Samaria responsible for the massacre was killed on April 17, 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield after the IDF and the Yamam caught up with him in Tubas and an armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozer toppled the house over him, after he was given a chance to surrender and refused. In May 2002, Israeli forces arrested the mastermind behind the attack, Abbas al-Sayed. On September 22, 2005, al-Sayed was convicted of the Passover attack and also of ordering the May 2001 bombing of a Netanya mall. He received 35 life sentences for each murder victim and additional time for those who were wounded.
In July 2005 Netanya was hit by a bomber again, this time one dispatched by Islamic Jihad. Five were killed and dozens wounded.
Palestinian Authority
While in English language media, the Palestinian Authority condemned the attack saying "The leadership strongly denounces Netanya operation against Israeli civilians and decides to prosecute those involved or responsible, in Arabic it glorified the "shahid" on January 21, 2003, the official PA daily newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida published a report saying "the Tulkarm Shahids Memorial Soccer Championship tournament of the Shahid Abd Al-Baset Odeh began with the participation of seven top teams, named after Shahids who gave their lives to redeem the homeland. Isam, the brother of the Shahid, will distribute the trophies.
Victims
Most of the victims were senior citizens (70+). Many of them were Holocaust survivors. The oldest victim was 90 and the youngest was 20 years old. A number of married couples were killed, as well as, a father together with his daughter. One of the victims was a Jewish tourist from Sweden who was visiting Israel for Passover.
| Name | Age | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Shula Abramovitch | 70 | Holon |
| David Anichovitch | 70 | Netanya |
| Avraham Beckerman (Sgt.-Maj.) | 25 | Ashdod |
| Shimon Ben-Aroya | 42 | Netanya |
| Frieda and Alter Britvich | 86 and 88 | Netanya |
| Idit and Andre Fried | Both 47 | Netanya |
| Miriam Gottsegen | 82 | Ramat Gan |
| Amiram Hamami | 44 | Netanya |
| Perla Hermele | 79 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Dvora and Michael Karim | 73 and 78 | Netanya |
| Yehudit and Eliezer Korman | 70 and 74 | Ramat HaSharon |
| Marianne Myriam Lehmann Zaoui | 77 | Netanya |
| Lola Levkovitch | 70 | Jerusalem |
| Sarah Levy-Hoffman | 89 | Tel-Aviv |
| Furuk Na'imi | 62 | Netanya |
| Eliahu Nakash | 85 | Tel-Aviv |
| Chanah Rogan | 90 | Netanya |
| Irit Rashel | 45 | Moshav Herev La'et |
| Clara Rosenberger | 77 | Jerusalem |
| Yulia Talmi | 87 | Tel-Aviv |
| Sivan (St.-Sgt.) and Ze'ev Vider | 20 and 50 | Beka'ot |
| Eva and Ernest Weiss | 75 and 80 | Petah Tikva |
| Anna and George Yakobovitch | 76 and 78 | Holon |
See also
References
External links
Audio and video
- The BBC's Caroline Hawley "Biggest and deadliest attack for several months", 27 March, 2002
- The BBC's Nick Childs "Inside, a black hole of carnage", 27 March, 2002
- US President George W Bush "This cold blooded killing must stop", 27 March, 2002
- Israeli Government spokesman Gideon Meir "Palestinian violence knows no boundaries", 27 March, 2002
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday September 27, 2008 at 03:00:37 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
The attack occurred on the night of March 27, when the traditional Jewish holiday of Passover was celebrated. The Park Hotel in Netanya held a large Passover dinner for its 250 guests, especially elderly Jews who didn't have family and relatives, in the ground-floor dining room. A Palestinian suicide bomber passed a security guard at the hotel's entrance, walked through the lobby passing the reception desk and entered the hotel's dining room where he detonated an explosive device he carried in a suitcase. Twenty-eight people were immediately killed, and about 140 were injured, of whom 20 were seriously injured. Two of the injured later died from their wounds. Some of the victims were Holocaust survivors.
Hamas claims responsibility
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomber was identified as Abdel-Basset Odeh, a 25-year-old from the nearby West Bank city of Tulkarem. Hamas claim that the attack were specifically designed to derail momentum from a recently announced peace offer from the Saudi government at the Beirut Summit.
On March 2008 Israel security arrested Hamas commander Omar Jabar the person claimed to have sent the bomber
Reactions
Israel's reaction
In his response to the Saudi initiative adopted at the Beirut Summit, Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel Shimon Peres noted that "… the details of every peace plan must be discussed directly between Israel and the Palestinians, and to make this possible, the Palestinian Authority must put an end to terror, the horrifying expression of which we witnessed just last night in Netanya.
In the wake of the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his cabinet ordered the immediate recruitment of 20,000 reservists in an emergency call-up and the following day launched Operation Defensive Shield. (See also: Battle of Jenin 2002.)
Keis Adwan, the head of the suicide bombing network in northern Samaria responsible for the massacre was killed on April 17, 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield after the IDF and the Yamam caught up with him in Tubas and an armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozer toppled the house over him, after he was given a chance to surrender and refused. In May 2002, Israeli forces arrested the mastermind behind the attack, Abbas al-Sayed. On September 22, 2005, al-Sayed was convicted of the Passover attack and also of ordering the May 2001 bombing of a Netanya mall. He received 35 life sentences for each murder victim and additional time for those who were wounded.
In July 2005 Netanya was hit by a bomber again, this time one dispatched by Islamic Jihad. Five were killed and dozens wounded.
Palestinian Authority
While in English language media, the Palestinian Authority condemned the attack saying "The leadership strongly denounces Netanya operation against Israeli civilians and decides to prosecute those involved or responsible, in Arabic it glorified the "shahid" on January 21, 2003, the official PA daily newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida published a report saying "the Tulkarm Shahids Memorial Soccer Championship tournament of the Shahid Abd Al-Baset Odeh began with the participation of seven top teams, named after Shahids who gave their lives to redeem the homeland. Isam, the brother of the Shahid, will distribute the trophies.
Victims
Most of the victims were senior citizens (70+). Many of them were Holocaust survivors. The oldest victim was 90 and the youngest was 20 years old. A number of married couples were killed, as well as, a father together with his daughter. One of the victims was a Jewish tourist from Sweden who was visiting Israel for Passover.
| Name | Age | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Shula Abramovitch | 70 | Holon |
| David Anichovitch | 70 | Netanya |
| Avraham Beckerman (Sgt.-Maj.) | 25 | Ashdod |
| Shimon Ben-Aroya | 42 | Netanya |
| Frieda and Alter Britvich | 86 and 88 | Netanya |
| Idit and Andre Fried | Both 47 | Netanya |
| Miriam Gottsegen | 82 | Ramat Gan |
| Amiram Hamami | 44 | Netanya |
| Perla Hermele | 79 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Dvora and Michael Karim | 73 and 78 | Netanya |
| Yehudit and Eliezer Korman | 70 and 74 | Ramat HaSharon |
| Marianne Myriam Lehmann Zaoui | 77 | Netanya |
| Lola Levkovitch | 70 | Jerusalem |
| Sarah Levy-Hoffman | 89 | Tel-Aviv |
| Furuk Na'imi | 62 | Netanya |
| Eliahu Nakash | 85 | Tel-Aviv |
| Chanah Rogan | 90 | Netanya |
| Irit Rashel | 45 | Moshav Herev La'et |
| Clara Rosenberger | 77 | Jerusalem |
| Yulia Talmi | 87 | Tel-Aviv |
| Sivan (St.-Sgt.) and Ze'ev Vider | 20 and 50 | Beka'ot |
| Eva and Ernest Weiss | 75 and 80 | Petah Tikva |
| Anna and George Yakobovitch | 76 and 78 | Holon |
See also
References
External links
Audio and video
- The BBC's Caroline Hawley "Biggest and deadliest attack for several months", 27 March, 2002
- The BBC's Nick Childs "Inside, a black hole of carnage", 27 March, 2002
- US President George W Bush "This cold blooded killing must stop", 27 March, 2002
- Israeli Government spokesman Gideon Meir "Palestinian violence knows no boundaries", 27 March, 2002
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday September 27, 2008 at 03:00:37 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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