The Beit Lid massacre was a suicide attack

Suicide attack

A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...

 by Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...

 against Israeli soldiers at the Beit Lid Junction on January 22, 1995. It was the first suicide attack by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Background

In 1994, Hani Abed, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...

 operative, brokered an alliance between Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

 and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (Hani was later assassinated by Israel). As part of the alliance, Hamas's chief bombmaker, Yahya Ayyash

Yahya Ayyash

Yahya Abd-al-Latif Ayyash was the chief bombmaker of Hamas and the leader of the West Bank battalion of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

, built the three bombs used by Islamic Jihad for the Beit Lid suicide attack. Each was made using plumber's pipe

Water pipe

Water pipes are pipes or tubes, frequently made of polyvinyl chloride , ductile iron, steel, cast iron, polypropylene, polyethylene, or copper, that carry pressurized and treated fresh water to buildings , as well as inside the building.-History:For many centuries, lead was the favoured material...

 (one foot long and eight inches (203 mm) wide) and five kilograms of military-grade TNT, surrounded by nails.

The Beit Lid junction is a well-known waypoint towards Netanya

Netanya

Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...

. Strategically, it is an important crossroads between Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

 and Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

 located on Highway 4

Highway 4 (Israel)

Highway 4 is an Israeli highway that runs along Israel's entire coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea, its route in the north runs from the Rosh HaNikra border crossing with Lebanon until the Erez Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip...

. "On Sunday mornings, Beit Lid was swamped with thousands of young soldiers and aging reservists heading back to military duty from weekend leaves". Ashmoret Prison is located in the southwest corner of the Beit Lid junction. At the time of the bombing, Ahmed Yassin

Ahmed Yassin

Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization...

, founder of Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

, was being held there.

The attack

On Sunday, 22 January 1995, at approximately 9:30 am, a Palestinian suicide bomber, disguised as an Israeli soldier, approached the bus stop at the Beit Lid junction in central Israel. The bus stop was full of Israeli soldiers who were on their way to their bases after their weekend vacation. The suicide bomber walked into the crowd and detonated the hidden explosives belt he was wearing. About three minutes later a second suicide bomber exploded at the same spot, killing and injuring people wounded in the first explosion, as well as bystanders who had rushed to the scene to assist the victims of the first explosion.

Fatalities

Soldiers: Lt. David Ben-Zino, 20, of Ashdod Lt. Adi Rosen, 20, of moshav Bitzaron Bitzaron Bitzaron is a moshav in the South District of Israel and part of the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. It is located on local road 3811, between Gan Yavne and Bnei Ayish. The moshav's population is approximately 1,000, and its area is about 5,000 dunams .... Lt. Yuval Tuvya, 22, of Jerusalem Sgt.-Maj. Anan Kadur, 24, of Daliyat al-Karmel Daliyat al-Karmel Daliyat al-Karmel is a Druze local council in the North District of Israel, located around 20 km southeast of Haifa.-History:The town was given local council status in 1951. However, in 2003 it was merged with nearby Isfiya to create Carmel City... Staff-Sgt. Damian Rosovski, 20, of Kadima Kadima Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians... Staff-Sgt. Yehiel Sharvit, 21, of Haifa Haifa Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher... Staff-Sgt. Yaron Blum, 20, of Jerusalem Sgt. Maya Kopstein, 19, of Jerusalem Sgt. Daniel Tzikuashvili, 19, of Jerusalem Sgt. Avi Salto, 19, of Rishon Lezion Sgt. Rafael Mizrahi, 19, of Ramat Gan

Sgt. Eran Gueta, 20, of Ashkelon Ashkelon Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age... Cpl. Soli Mizrahi, 18, of Ramat Gan Cpl. David Hasson, 18, of Ashkelon Ashkelon Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age... Cpl. Amir Hirschenson, 18, of Jerusalem Cpl. Gilad Gal-On, 18, of Herzliya Herzliya Herzliya is a city in the central coast of Israel, at the western part of the Tel Aviv District. It has a population of 87,000 residents. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²... Cpl. Ilie Dagan, 18, of Kochav Yair Cpl. Eitan Peretz, 18, of Nahariya Nahariya Nahariya is the northernmost coastal city in Israel, with an estimated population of 51,200.-History:Nahariya was founded by German Jewish immigrants from the Fifth Aliyah in the 1930s... Lt. Eyal Levy, 20, of Ashdod – seriously wounded, later died of his wounds Cpl. Yaniv Weiser, 18, of Givatayim – seriously wounded, later died of his wounds Civilians: Shabtai Mahpud, 34, of moshav Tnuvot Tnuvot Tnuvot is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain between Netanya and Tulkarm, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lev HaSharon Regional Council... .

Aftermath

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin

' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....

 toured the bombing site the next day, walking within yards of a kit bag containing a third bomb. Shaaker had left it there for a third suicide bomber, Shahdi Abed al-Rahim, who never made it to the junction. al-Rahim was to have used the bomb to kill Rabin and the Shabak agents accompanying him. The bomb was later recovered, and provided investigators with more evidence implicating Ayyash.

External links

• Suicide bomb kills 19 at Israel road junction - published on Boston Herald
  Boston Herald
  The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
  
   on January 23, 1995
• Two-Stage Bombing Kills 19 At Israeli Military Bus Stop - published on Washington Post on January 23, 1995
• Blast kills 19 in Israel - published on Sun Journal
  Sun Journal
  Sun Journal can refer to several newspapers:* Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine.* Sun Journal of New Bern, North Carolina....
  
   on January 23, 1995
• Double Bombing Kills 19 Israelis, Wounds 60 - published on Times Daily on January 23, 1995
• Time Magazine interview with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shkaki four days after the bombing