Revision as of 19:46, 9 September 2012 editJokkmokks-Goran (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,312 edits Undid revision 511576159 by Activism1234 (talk)← Previous edit | Revision as of 19:47, 9 September 2012 edit undoJokkmokks-Goran (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,312 edits Stop wholesale deletion or relevant sourced materialNext edit → | ||
Line 63: | Line 63: | ||
===Israeli response=== | ===Israeli response=== | ||
The Palestinian-administered part of Hebron was quickly re-occupied by Israeli forces and a curfew was declared throughout the city. The curfew remained in force for more than six months. Scores of young Palestinians were arrested. Four Palestinian houses were demolished by the IDF.<ref name="UNNov02"> Chronological Review of Events November 2002</ref> | The Palestinian-administered part of Hebron was quickly re-occupied by Israeli forces and a curfew was declared throughout the city. The curfew remained in force for more than six months. According to the Israeli Human Rights Organization ] the imposition of the curfew was "unrelated to the attempt to arrest the Palestinians who are responsible for the shooting or to prevent the gunfire" but served as "collective punishment of an innocent civilian population".<ref name= BTselem >{{cite web | url = http://www.btselem.org/download/200308_hebron_area_h2_eng.doc | title = Status Report Hebron, Area H-2, Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians | publisher = B’Tselem | author= Yael Stein (Ed.) | date= August 2003 | accessdate =8 November 2011}}</ref> Scores of young Palestinians were arrested. Four Palestinian houses were demolished by the IDF.<ref name="UNNov02"> Chronological Review of Events November 2002</ref> | ||
Prime Minister ] told IDF commanders in Hebron two days after the incident that "the opportunity that now presents itself in the wake of the attack... must be exploited to establish new facts on the ground" by creating a "territorial continuity between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and the Jewish section of Hebron". Sharon also told the officers that "the army must create a situation that will ensure the safety of the Jews living in the divided city, and reduce to a minimum the presence of Palestinians in the area in which the settlers live."<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.haaretz.com/news/pm-calls-for-territorial-continuity-from-kiryat-arba-to-hebron-1.28127 |title = PM calls for territorial continuity from Kiryat Arba to Hebron | publisher = Haaretz| date=17 November 2002 | accessdate=17 September 2011}}</ref> | Prime Minister ] told IDF commanders in Hebron two days after the incident that "the opportunity that now presents itself in the wake of the attack... must be exploited to establish new facts on the ground" by creating a "territorial continuity between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and the Jewish section of Hebron". Sharon also told the officers that "the army must create a situation that will ensure the safety of the Jews living in the divided city, and reduce to a minimum the presence of Palestinians in the area in which the settlers live."<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.haaretz.com/news/pm-calls-for-territorial-continuity-from-kiryat-arba-to-hebron-1.28127 |title = PM calls for territorial continuity from Kiryat Arba to Hebron | publisher = Haaretz| date=17 November 2002 | accessdate=17 September 2011}}</ref> | ||
The mayor of Kiryat Arba, ], called on the government to "clean up the area" by destroying hundreds of Palestinian homes along a road connecting Hebron and his settlement.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://worldnewssite.com/News/2002/November/2002-11-17-9-Sharon.html | title = Sharon: 'Now Is the Time to Expand Jewish Control Over Hebron'| publisher = WorldNewsSite.com | author= Ross Dunn | date= 17 November 2002| accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref> | The mayor of Kiryat Arba, ], called on the government to "clean up the area" by destroying hundreds of Palestinian homes along a road connecting Hebron and his settlement.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://worldnewssite.com/News/2002/November/2002-11-17-9-Sharon.html | title = Sharon: 'Now Is the Time to Expand Jewish Control Over Hebron'| publisher = WorldNewsSite.com | author= Ross Dunn | date= 17 November 2002| accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref> In November 2002 an 8.2 ] large area in Hebron was expropriated by the Israel Defense Forces, covering a 6 to 12 meter wide corridor linking the Jewish settlement in Hebron with Kiryat Arba. The area consists of 22 Palestinian-owned buildings of architectural and historical value in the Old City that the army intended to demolish.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/pernicious-promenade-1.25658 |title = Pernicious promenade | publisher =Haaretz | author= Esther Zandberg | date=12 December 2002 | accessdate=17 September 2011}}</ref> The military order was appealed to the High Court of Justice and it’s unclear whether or when it was actually carried out. The petition was rejected by the High Court after the IDF declared that they intended to demolish only two of the houses.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/high-court-gives-idf-go-ahead-to-demolish-two-hebron-houses-1.115905 |title = High Court gives IDF go-ahead to demolish two Hebron houses | publisher =Haaretz | author= Yuval Yoaz | date= 05.03.04 | accessdate=9 November 2011}}</ref> In February 2003 another 22 Palestinian buildings in the same area of Hebron were destroyed by IDF, in what Haaretz labeled as “likely part of the IDF's ongoing retaliation campaign in the city”.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-razes-22-palestinian-structures-in-hebron-1.20251 |title = Israel razes 22 Palestinian structures in Hebron | publisher =Haaretz | author= Arnon Regular | date= 03.02.03 | accessdate=9 November 2011}}</ref> | ||
The three Response Team members, who all worked full-time in the security service, were accorded military ceremony funerals "due to their involvement in Hevron security".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/1578 |title = Op-Ed: A Funeral of Heroes in Hevron | author= Ariel Natan Pasko | publisher = Arutz 7 | date= 18 November 2002 | accessdate=17 September 2011}}</ref> A month after the incident, the three killed civilian security men were formally recognized by the Ministry of Defense as "fallen soldiers."<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/35541#.UEWNVHI1OSo | title = Military Tombstones for Fallen Civilians Fighters | publisher = Arutz 7| author= | date= Dec/15/2002| accessdate= Sep 1, 2012}}</ref> | The three Response Team members, who all worked full-time in the security service, were accorded military ceremony funerals "due to their involvement in Hevron security".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/1578 |title = Op-Ed: A Funeral of Heroes in Hevron | author= Ariel Natan Pasko | publisher = Arutz 7 | date= 18 November 2002 | accessdate=17 September 2011}}</ref> A month after the incident, the three killed civilian security men were formally recognized by the Ministry of Defense as "fallen soldiers."<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/35541#.UEWNVHI1OSo | title = Military Tombstones for Fallen Civilians Fighters | publisher = Arutz 7| author= | date= Dec/15/2002| accessdate= Sep 1, 2012}}</ref> | ||
Line 73: | Line 73: | ||
==International reactions== | ==International reactions== | ||
The US Secretary of State Colin Powell condemned in the strongest possible terms "the shocking and reprehensible attack on Jewish worshipers... gunned down on the way back from Sabbath prayer".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://usembassy-israel.org.il/publish/peace/archives/2002/november/111603.html |title = Powell Condemns Killing of Israeli Worshipers in Hebron | publisher=US Embassy Israel | date=16 November 2002 | accessdate= 2011-09-17}}</ref> The Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General ] condemned "the despicable terrorist attack... that today killed 10 Jewish worshippers on their way to the Sabbath eve prayers"... terrorist act against Israeli civilians".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/sgsm8498.doc.htm |title =SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS 'DESPICABLE' HEBRON TERRORIST ATTACK | publisher = UN | date= 15 November 2002| accessdate= 2011-09-17}}</ref> | The US Secretary of State Colin Powell condemned in the strongest possible terms "the shocking and reprehensible attack on Jewish worshipers... gunned down on the way back from Sabbath prayer".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://usembassy-israel.org.il/publish/peace/archives/2002/november/111603.html |title = Powell Condemns Killing of Israeli Worshipers in Hebron | publisher=US Embassy Israel | date=16 November 2002 | accessdate= 2011-09-17}}</ref> The Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General ] condemned "the despicable terrorist attack... that today killed 10 Jewish worshippers on their way to the Sabbath eve prayers"... terrorist act against Israeli civilians".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/sgsm8498.doc.htm |title =SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS 'DESPICABLE' HEBRON TERRORIST ATTACK | publisher = UN | date= 15 November 2002| accessdate= 2011-09-17}}</ref> | ||
The ] (ADC) protested against these and other similar statements, claiming they were based on a false account of the events. The official Israeli version that these statements apparently were made was described as "absolute fiction" and "deliberate deception" by the organization. No Jewish worshipers or civilians were hurt in the attack. ADC also warned American media to "treat all Israeli claims in future with due skepticism".<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.adc.org/media/press-releases/2002/november-2002/adc-cautions-media-on-israels-deceptions/ | title = ADC Cautions Media on Israel's Deceptions | publisher = The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee | author= | date= November 18, 2002 | accessdate= Sep 1, 2012}}</ref> | |||
==Subsequent related events== | ==Subsequent related events== | ||
Line 81: | Line 83: | ||
Following the attack the Israeli Chief of Staff posthumously granted the ] to Yitzhak Buanish, Alexander Zwitman and Alexander Dohan - the ] Emergency Response Team, as well as to Elijah Liebman, the chief of security of the Jewish community in ].<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite news | url= http://www.inn.co.il/News/Flash.aspx/109020 | title = אות הערכה הוענק גם לכיתת הכוננות של קרית ארבע (Medal of appreciation awarded to the emergency team of Kiryat Arba) | publisher = Arutz 7| author= | date= 12 April 2005| accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref> After his death, Sgt. Gad Rahamim was granted the ] for his part in the battle.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> | Following the attack the Israeli Chief of Staff posthumously granted the ] to Yitzhak Buanish, Alexander Zwitman and Alexander Dohan - the ] Emergency Response Team, as well as to Elijah Liebman, the chief of security of the Jewish community in ].<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite news | url= http://www.inn.co.il/News/Flash.aspx/109020 | title = אות הערכה הוענק גם לכיתת הכוננות של קרית ארבע (Medal of appreciation awarded to the emergency team of Kiryat Arba) | publisher = Arutz 7| author= | date= 12 April 2005| accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref> After his death, Sgt. Gad Rahamim was granted the ] for his part in the battle.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> | ||
On December 12, a Palestinian ] |
On December 12, a Palestinian fighter from ] walked up to two Israeli Military Policemen, from the Sahlav unit, doing guard duty outside the Cave of the Patriarchs / Ibrahimi mosque and shot them point-blank. The two soldiers were identified as Cpl. Keren Ya'akobi, and Sgt. Maor Kalfon. The former was the first operational fatality of the IDF in the Second Intifada. The Israeli army destroyed five Palestinian houses in the area.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.haaretz.com/news/2-soldiers-killed-in-shooting-attack-in-west-bank-city-of-hebron-1.25545 | title = 2 soldiers killed in shooting attack in West Bank city of Hebron | publisher = | author= Amos Harel | date= Dec.13, 2002| accessdate= 2011-11-10}}</ref> | ||
On December 27 four yeshiva students, two of them IDF soldiers, were killed in |
On December 27 four yeshiva students, two of them IDF soldiers, were killed in an ] on the settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron. The attack was carried out by the same unit of the Islamic Jihad that carried out the Hebron ambush.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.haaretz.com/news/two-of-the-four-victims-of-otniel-attack-were-soldiers-1.24065 | title = Two of the four victims of Otniel attack were soldiers | publisher = Haaretz | author= Amos Harel | date= | accessdate= Sep 1, 2012}}</ref> | ||
Israel has repeatedly claimed to have killed or captured the people behind the lethal ambush in Hebron. In August 2003 ], described as the head of Islamic Jihad in Hebron, was killed in an arrest operation in Hebron. The Hebron ambush was claimed to have been carried out “under Sidr's guidance”.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2003/Mohammed+Sidr-+head+of+Islamic+Jihad+in+Hebron-+ki.htm |title =Mohammed Sidr, head of Islamic Jihad in Hebron, killed during IDF attempt to arrest him| publisher = MFA | date= | accessdate=17 September 2011}}</ref> | Israel has repeatedly claimed to have killed or captured the people behind the lethal ambush in Hebron. In August 2003 ], described as the head of Islamic Jihad in Hebron, was killed in an arrest operation in Hebron. The Hebron ambush was claimed to have been carried out “under Sidr's guidance”.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2003/Mohammed+Sidr-+head+of+Islamic+Jihad+in+Hebron-+ki.htm |title =Mohammed Sidr, head of Islamic Jihad in Hebron, killed during IDF attempt to arrest him| publisher = MFA | date= | accessdate=17 September 2011}}</ref> |
Revision as of 19:47, 9 September 2012
2002 Hebron ambush | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Second Intifada | |||||
| |||||
Belligerents | |||||
Israel Defense Forces | Palestinian Islamic Jihad | ||||
Strength | |||||
IDF Nahal brigade, Border police and the Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team | Jerusalem Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad | ||||
Casualties and losses | |||||
12 Israeli combatants killed, 15 wounded | 3 Palestinian combatants killed | ||||
No non-combatant casualties |
The 2002 Hebron ambush took place in the Wadi an-Nasara neighborhood in Hebron in the West Bank on 15 November 2002. Israeli forces were subjected to a series of ambushes by fighters from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Twelve Israeli combatants, including three officers, were killed in the battle, as were three of the Palestinian attackers. The battle was referred to in Israel as "The attack in the worshipers route",Template:Lang-he. In Arabic the attack became known as the Battle of Wadi an-Nasara (the Valley of the Christians), Template:Lang-ar "Ma’rakat Wadi an-Nasara”, after the place where the battle took place. The place where the attack took place became known as the "Alley of Death" both in Hebrew and Arabic. The ambush was initially dubbed as the "Sabbath massacre" (Template:Lang-he) by official Israeli spokespersons.
The attacks were carried out simultaneously in a narrow alley which was used as a passage from Kiryat Arba to the Tomb of the Patriarchs and at the south gate of Kiryat Arba. During the ambushes, 12 Israelis were killed (five border policemen, four IDF soldiers and three members of the Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team) and 14 Israeli combatants were injured. Among those killed were three high-ranking Israeli officers. The three attackers were killed in the immediate exchange of fire that followed the attack.
The battle
One of the militants positioned himself near the front of the exit gate of Kiryat Arba towards Hebron. The remaining two militants positioned themselves near the a narrow alley off the road used as a passage by all Jewish worshipers heading from Kiryat Arba to the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
Four Nahal Brigade soldiers on patrol, accompanied by Border Police jeeps were heading out of the "Worshipers Way" after patrol that area. In addition, two additional Nahal soldiers were positioned in an observation post located nearby and several more IDF soldiers were located near the exit gate of Kiryat Arba.
A group of settlers from Kiryat Arba had visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron for a Sabbath eve service and were escorted back to the settlement by Israeli military. A few minutes after the all clear signal rang, signaling that all the settlers had safely returned to Kiryat Arba, the first bullets were fired.
At 6:55 pm the Palestinian militants opened fire simultaneously on a group of soldiers guarding the south gate of Kiryat Arba and a patrol passing through a narrow alley leading from the Tomb of the Patriarchs to Kiryat Arba. Two soldiers in the alley were wounded. One IDF paramedic was killed trying to evacuate the wounded.
The Palestinian militants moved positions frequently during the more than 4 hours of fighting creating the impression that many more militants were involved. They lured Israeli forces off the "Path of Worshipers" into the narrow alley, later known as the "Alley of Death".
Minutes later Border Police Superintendent Samih Sweidan arrived at the scene and drove immediately into the alley to engage the Palestinian militants and evacuate the wounded. He and his driver were shot to death, apparently at point-blank range, as they stepped out of their jeep. Meanwhile one of the wounded trapped in the alley died of his wounds. The attack had hardly lasted five minutes and already four Israeli soldiers were dead. A few minutes later a fifth soldier was shot and killed. The killed and wounded soldiers remained in the exposed alley.
Around 7:15 pm the Palestinian militants ceased fire, creating the impression that they had run away. At this time the commander of the IDF Hebron Brigade, Colonel Dror Weinberg arrived at the scene. He quickly organized a force of three jeeps and entered the alley. When Weinberg reached Sweidan’s jeep he was hit by a bullet and severely wounded. After being evacuated he died from his wounds, becoming the highest ranking Israeli casualty of the Second Intifada.
Before being hit Col. Weinberg had contacted the settler's security service, the Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team. Around 7:40 pm the head of the response team, Yitzhak Buanish, entered the alley together with a force consisting of Buanish own men and Border Police soldiers. As in the previous rescue attempts, they were ambushed. Buanish and two of his colleagues were killed and another five wounded. Two Border Police officers were also killed in the incident. The first Palestinian militant was probably killed in this incident as well.
At 7:50 pm the IDF entered the alley with armored personal carriers and started engaging the Palestinians. Firing continued until 8:15 pm when the Palestinians stopped firing back and the dead and wounded soldiers could be evacuated. But fighting flared up again.
Control over the situation was gradually restored with the arrival of reinforcements and commanding officers. Lieutenant Colonel Eran, head of the Nahal Brigade in Hebron, and soldiers from the Duvdevan elite unit, rushed to Hebron from Ramallah, outflanked the two remaining gunmen and killed them. That was close to 11:30 pm, more than four hours after the attack started.
The Palestinian militants
The attack was carried out by three members of the Jerusalem Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. According to a statement by the Jerusalem Brigades the attack was intended as a revenge for the killing of the regional Islamic Jihad leader Iyad Sawalha in Jenin earlier in the week as well as “other crimes against our people”.
The three militants were all in their early 20’s and enrolled as engineering students at the Hebron Polytechnic. According to Palestinian sources they had prepared the ambush for more than two months, scouting the area of the attack thoroughly and especially studying Israeli security arrangements along the road between the Ibrahimi mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) and Kiryat Arba. The operation was planned as a martyrdom operation and the participants had written their customary wills.
Aftermath
Initial reports and reactions
Official Israeli spokesmen initially described the battle as a massacre of civilian Israeli settlers returning from Sabbath prayers. Gilad Millo, spokesman of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, originally called the attack as the "Sabbath massacre," when he said:
"This sabbath massacre is the second time in a week that innocent civilians have been senselessly murdered either in their beds or on their way to prayers. No political process can take root while these atrocities continue to be carried out by terrorists."
International media outlets and world leaders initially credited the official description of events. CNN used the term "Sabbath massacre" on its website, and wrote that Palestinian militants had "ambushed a group of Israeli Jews on their way home from prayer services".
Subsequent reports and reactions
The following day the Israeli authorities clarified that only soldiers or security personnel were hurt in the ambush. Army spokesman Yoni Schoenfeld confirmed to Chicago Tribune that none of the settlers who returned from the Tomb of the Patriarchs were killed or wounded. The Israeli daily Haaretz wrote two days after the attack that "The Foreign Ministry's successful "spin" on the Islamic Jihad attack in Hebron… lasted only a few hours." According to Haaretz, the attack was not a massacre, and the Israeli victims were not "peaceful Jewish worshippers" but rather "armed fighters" who were killed in combat.
Chicago Tribune initially reported that the Palestinian ambush had targeted both settlers and soldiers. On the following day it published a retraction, with the headline "Gunmen targeted troops, not settlers". The Christian Science Monitor wrote a few days after the incident that “s details about the clash filter out, it seems less like a "Sabbath massacre," as it was described initially, and more like a military failure for the Israelis”. Matan Vilnai a former general and a leading Labour Party politician said that "t wasn't a massacre, it was a battle."
The Swedish Journalist Union’s magazine "Journalisten" wrote that Israel often tried to conceal military victims of Palestinian attacks. Swedish newspapers did not publish corrections even when early official versions of violent incidents in Israel failed to mention that the Israeli victims were soldiers. The magazine mentions four such incidents during 2002-03, including the Hebron ambush. The other incidents referred to in the article were the killing of three Israeli soldiers south of Hebron, January 23, 2003, the killing of three soldiers October 19, 2003 and a further tree soldiers killed at Netzarim, October 23, 2003. In all these instances Swedish media only referred to "Israelis" being killed, implying that they were civilians. In most cases Swedish mainstream media would not correct information when the identity of the victims became clear.
Israeli response
The Palestinian-administered part of Hebron was quickly re-occupied by Israeli forces and a curfew was declared throughout the city. The curfew remained in force for more than six months. According to the Israeli Human Rights Organization B'Tselem the imposition of the curfew was "unrelated to the attempt to arrest the Palestinians who are responsible for the shooting or to prevent the gunfire" but served as "collective punishment of an innocent civilian population". Scores of young Palestinians were arrested. Four Palestinian houses were demolished by the IDF.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told IDF commanders in Hebron two days after the incident that "the opportunity that now presents itself in the wake of the attack... must be exploited to establish new facts on the ground" by creating a "territorial continuity between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and the Jewish section of Hebron". Sharon also told the officers that "the army must create a situation that will ensure the safety of the Jews living in the divided city, and reduce to a minimum the presence of Palestinians in the area in which the settlers live."
The mayor of Kiryat Arba, Zvi Katsover, called on the government to "clean up the area" by destroying hundreds of Palestinian homes along a road connecting Hebron and his settlement. In November 2002 an 8.2 dunam large area in Hebron was expropriated by the Israel Defense Forces, covering a 6 to 12 meter wide corridor linking the Jewish settlement in Hebron with Kiryat Arba. The area consists of 22 Palestinian-owned buildings of architectural and historical value in the Old City that the army intended to demolish. The military order was appealed to the High Court of Justice and it’s unclear whether or when it was actually carried out. The petition was rejected by the High Court after the IDF declared that they intended to demolish only two of the houses. In February 2003 another 22 Palestinian buildings in the same area of Hebron were destroyed by IDF, in what Haaretz labeled as “likely part of the IDF's ongoing retaliation campaign in the city”.
The three Response Team members, who all worked full-time in the security service, were accorded military ceremony funerals "due to their involvement in Hevron security". A month after the incident, the three killed civilian security men were formally recognized by the Ministry of Defense as "fallen soldiers."
International reactions
The US Secretary of State Colin Powell condemned in the strongest possible terms "the shocking and reprehensible attack on Jewish worshipers... gunned down on the way back from Sabbath prayer". The Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned "the despicable terrorist attack... that today killed 10 Jewish worshippers on their way to the Sabbath eve prayers"... terrorist act against Israeli civilians".
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) protested against these and other similar statements, claiming they were based on a false account of the events. The official Israeli version that these statements apparently were made was described as "absolute fiction" and "deliberate deception" by the organization. No Jewish worshipers or civilians were hurt in the attack. ADC also warned American media to "treat all Israeli claims in future with due skepticism".
Subsequent related events
The IDF conduct during the Hebron ambush was exposed to a lot of bitter criticism. Many settlers blamed the death of the three Kiryat Arba security men on the "cowardice" of IDF soldiers. Three Israeli officers were dismissed from their posts in December 2002 for their personal failures in the Hebron ambush. The death of several high-ranking officers created a "command vacuum" that the remaining officers proved unable to fill, creating "a situation in which the decision-making fell into the hands of civilians (local settlers)". "When civilians command the army - this is not an acceptable situation as far as we are concerned."
In the site where the battle took place the "Giborim outpost" (מאחז הגיבורים) was constructed which originally included a small number of temporary structures and tents housed by the number of young people and families who demanded to build a neighborhood in the site in memory of the fallen. 30 days after the incident the outpost was evacuated by the Israel military forces. Since then the area has been declared as a 'closed military area' by the local IDF commander.
Following the attack the Israeli Chief of Staff posthumously granted the Chief of Staff Medal of Appreciation to Yitzhak Buanish, Alexander Zwitman and Alexander Dohan - the Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team, as well as to Elijah Liebman, the chief of security of the Jewish community in Hebron. After his death, Sgt. Gad Rahamim was granted the Medal of Courage for his part in the battle.
On December 12, a Palestinian fighter from Hamas walked up to two Israeli Military Policemen, from the Sahlav unit, doing guard duty outside the Cave of the Patriarchs / Ibrahimi mosque and shot them point-blank. The two soldiers were identified as Cpl. Keren Ya'akobi, and Sgt. Maor Kalfon. The former was the first operational fatality of the IDF in the Second Intifada. The Israeli army destroyed five Palestinian houses in the area.
On December 27 four yeshiva students, two of them IDF soldiers, were killed in an Yeshivat Otniel shooting on the settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron. The attack was carried out by the same unit of the Islamic Jihad that carried out the Hebron ambush.
Israel has repeatedly claimed to have killed or captured the people behind the lethal ambush in Hebron. In August 2003 Muhammed Sidr, described as the head of Islamic Jihad in Hebron, was killed in an arrest operation in Hebron. The Hebron ambush was claimed to have been carried out “under Sidr's guidance”.
A month later Majid Abu Dosh was killed in similar circumstances outside Hebron. According to Haaretz Abu Dosh was “considered the "operations officer" of Islamic Jihad in the Hebron area, and the right-hand man of Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Sidr, who was killed by the Police Special Anti-Terror Unit in August. Abu-Dosh is said to have planned the attack on Worshipers' Way in Hebron.”
In December 2003 Nour Jaber, also described as the head of the Islamic Jihad movement in Hebron, was sentenced to 17 life sentences for his role in planning the Hebron ambush operation as well as another attack on the Hesder yeshiva (military religious academy) of Otniel, where two IDF soldiers and two teenage yeshiva students were killed.
Palestinian sources confirm that Jaber was indeed actively involved in the planning of the ambush. A web page connected to Islamic Jihad celebrating the attackers mentions, apart from the three dead, only Jaber's role in the attack and described him as "the planner" of the operation. No mention was made of the others' eventual contribution to planning or execution of the attack.
Fatalities
Palestinian Jerusalem Brigades
- Akram 'Abd al-Muhsen al-Hinuni, 20, of Hebron
- Walaa’ Hashim Da’ud Surour, 21, of Hebron
- Dhiyab Muhammad ‘Abd al-Mu’ti al-Muhtasib, 22, of Hebron
Israel Defense forces
- Col. Dror Weinberg (commander of the Hebron brigade), 38, of Jerusalem
- Lt. Dan Cohen, 22, of Jerusalem
- Sgt. Igor Drobitsky, 20, of Nahariya
- Cpl. David Marcus, 20, of Ma'aleh Adumim
Israeli Border Police
- Ch.-Supt. Samih Sweidan (Chief of Operations of Hebron's Border Police unit), 31, of Arab al-Aramshe
- Sgt. Tomer Nov, 19, of Ashdod
- Sgt. Gad Rahamim, 19, of Kiryat Malachi
- St.-Sgt. Netanel Machluf, 19, of Hadera
- St.-Sgt. Yeshayahu Davidov, 20, of Netanya
Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team
- Yitzhak Buanish (head of Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team), 46, of Kiryat Arba
- Alexander Zwitman, 26, of Kiryat Arba
- Alexander Dohan, 33, of Kiryat Arba
See also
References
- Felix Frisch (17 July 2003). "כתב אישום: תכנן את הפיגוע בציר המתפללים בחברון (Indictment: He planned the attack on worshipers' route in Hebron)". Yedioth Acharonoth. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Faris as-Saraya (26 September 2004). "الذكرى السنوية الثانية لعملية الخليل..من هم الثلاثة الذين زلزلوا اركان الصهاينة (The second anniversary of the Hebron operation: Who were the three who shook the foundations of the zionists)". Aqsaa.com. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ Amos Harel (17 November 2002). "The attack in Hebron was not a 'massacre'". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- IDF Spokesperson (16 November 2002). "12 Israelis Killed in Sabbath Eve attack in Hebron". MFA. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- Kalman Liebeskind (13 May 2005). "לבד, בסמטה, מול מלאך המוות (Alone in the alley, facing the angel of death)". NRG (Maariv). Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- "الكمين الأعظم عملية زقاق الموت ملف كامل (The great ambush, the Alley of Death operation, the complete file)". Saraya al-Quds web site. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- "سرايا القدس: تنشر تفاصيل عملية "زقاق الموت" البطولية بمدينة الخليل (The Jerusalem Brigades publishes the details of the heroic "Alley of Death" operation in the city of Hebron)". Saraya al-Quds web site. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- Alan Philps (16 November 2002). "Gunmen kill 12 Israelis after prayers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- "12 Israelis killed in 'Sabbath massacre'". CNN. 15 November 2002. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ Christine Spolar (17 November 2002). "Gunmen targeted troops, not settlers". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- Christine Spolar (16 November 2002). "12 Israelis die in Hebron attack". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- Nicole Gaouette (18 November 2002). "Israelis reinterpret a Hebron raid". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- Paul Frigyes (11 November 2003). "Dödade soldater blev "israeler" (Killed soldiers became "Israelis")". Journalisten. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- Yael Stein (Ed.) (August 2003). "Status Report Hebron, Area H-2, Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians". B’Tselem. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- UN Docs Chronological Review of Events November 2002
- "PM calls for territorial continuity from Kiryat Arba to Hebron". Haaretz. 17 November 2002. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- Ross Dunn (17 November 2002). "Sharon: 'Now Is the Time to Expand Jewish Control Over Hebron'". WorldNewsSite.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- Esther Zandberg (12 December 2002). "Pernicious promenade". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- Yuval Yoaz (05.03.04). "High Court gives IDF go-ahead to demolish two Hebron houses". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - Arnon Regular (03.02.03). "Israel razes 22 Palestinian structures in Hebron". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - Ariel Natan Pasko (18 November 2002). "Op-Ed: A Funeral of Heroes in Hevron". Arutz 7. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- "Military Tombstones for Fallen Civilians Fighters". Arutz 7. Dec/15/2002. Retrieved Sep 1, 2012.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - "Powell Condemns Killing of Israeli Worshipers in Hebron". US Embassy Israel. 16 November 2002. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- "SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS 'DESPICABLE' HEBRON TERRORIST ATTACK". UN. 15 November 2002. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- "ADC Cautions Media on Israel's Deceptions". The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. 18 November 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- Amos Harel and Ido Shai (17 November 2002). "Hebron ambush scene dubbed `Death Alley'". H. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- Amos Harel (13 December 2002). "3 IDF officers to be dismissed following report on Hebron attack". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- Giborim Outpost Activists Arrested - Latest News Briefs - Israel National News
- ^ "אות הערכה הוענק גם לכיתת הכוננות של קרית ארבע (Medal of appreciation awarded to the emergency team of Kiryat Arba)". Arutz 7. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- Amos Harel (Dec.13, 2002). "2 soldiers killed in shooting attack in West Bank city of Hebron". Retrieved 2011-11-10.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - Amos Harel. "Two of the four victims of Otniel attack were soldiers". Haaretz. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- "Mohammed Sidr, head of Islamic Jihad in Hebron, killed during IDF attempt to arrest him". MFA. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- Amos Harel and Arnon Regular (17 September 2003). "IDF kills Hebron-area Jihad leader". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- Zohar Blumenkrantz, Roni Singer-Heruti (8 December 2003). "Islamic Jihad head in Hebron handed 17 life terms". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- Col. Dror Weinberg
- Lt Dan Cohen
- Sgt Igor Drobitsky
- St-Sgt David Marcus
- Ch-Supt Samih Sweidan
- Sgt Tomer Nov
- Sgt Gad Rahamim
- St-Sgt Netanel Machluf
- St-Sgt Yeshayahu Davidov
- Yitzhak Buanish
- Alexander Zwitman
- Alexander Dohan
External links
- 12 Israelis Killed in Sabbath Eve attack in Hebron - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Prominent attacks by Palestinian militants in the 2000s | |
---|---|
Within Israel |
|
West Bank |
|
Gaza Strip |
|
Worldwide |
|
Attacks launched from Lebanon Attacks launched from the West Bank Attacks launched from the Gaza Strip 1990s 2010s |