Incident Summary:
03/26/2002: Two Palestinian suicide bombers were foiled in their attempt to strike a busy Jerusalem shopping mall when the car in which they were driving exploded approximately 400 meters from the intended target. Israeli police officers identified the car and ordered the driver to stop. The request was ignored, after which the explosion occurred. In a released statement, the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade claimed responsibility for the failed attempt, and identified the assailants as nineteen year old Khaled Moussa al-Khadr and twenty-two year old Shadi Hamamreh. The terrorist group’s statement further mentioned that the attack was a response to Israel’s policies and actions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Overview
GTD ID:
200203260001
When:
2002-03-26
Country:
Israel
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Jerusalem
City:
Jerusalem
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Business |
Name of Entity |
Shopping Mall |
Specific Description |
Malkha Mall in Jerusalem, Israel |
Nationality of Target |
Israel |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
Civilians |
Specific Description |
Indiscriminate civilians at a shopping mall in Jerusalem, Israel |
Nationality of Target |
Israel |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Suicide (carried bodily by human being) |
Weapon Details |
The suicide bomber carried unspecified explosives directly on his person in the incident. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | Yes |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
Both perpetrators were from the West Bank town of Bethlehem. The terrorist group’s statement further mentioned that the attack was a response to Israel’s policies and actions in the West Bank and Gaza. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Call (post-incident)) |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
2 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
2 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
2 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
2 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
“Two Palestinians killed by own bomb in Jerusalem,” Agence France Presse, March 26, 2002. |
Mark Lavie, “Car explodes during security check near Jerusalem's largest mall,” Associated Press, March 26, 2002. |
Ibrahim Hazboun, “Police say bombing thwarted when explosion in car kills two Palestinians,” Associated Press Worldstream, March 26, 2002. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties