The Netzarim Junction bicycle bombing was a

suicide bombing A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

which occurred on November 11, 1994, at the

Netzarim Junction The Netzarim Junction is a road intersection in the central part of the Gaza Strip. It is formed by the intersection of Route 749 (running east-west, built by the IDF) within the Netzarim Corridor with Salah al-Din Road (running north-south, ...

, an

Israeli Army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...

checkpoint located in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. In the attack, three Israeli soldiers were killed and six Israeli soldiers and six

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

were wounded. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Attack

On Friday, November 11, 1994, a Palestinian cyclist detonated explosives strapped to his body as he rode his bicycle into an

checkpoint. Apart from the bomber, the blast killed three Israeli soldiers, all officers on reserve duty, and wounded twelve other people – six Israeli servicemen and six Palestinians, including members of a family that happened to be passing in a car. The attack occurred close to the then Israeli settlement of

Netzarim Netzarim () was an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip about 5 kilometers southwest of Gaza City. It was established in 1972. In August 2005, the inhabitants of Netzarim were evicted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as part of Israel's uni ...

, at the main junction of

's north-south highway.

Perpetrators

A leaflet that was later distributed by Islamic Jihad identified the bomber as Hisham Ismail Hamad, 21, of

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

's Sheik Radwan neighborhood.

Aftermath

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

Chairman

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

condemned the attack, through an aide. Following the attack, the Palestinian police raided scores of houses and a mosque and arrested more than 100 Islamic militants in a crackdown ordered as a result of the killing of the three Israeli soldiers. While apparently initiating a tougher policy against Muslim militants, leaders of the Palestinian self-rule authority denounced Netzarim and the other settlements in the

. "Netzarim has been a sore point," said

Nabil Shaath Nabil Ali Muhammad (Abu Rashid) Shaath (, ; born 9 August 1938 in Safad) is a Palestinian politician, banker, management and development expert. Academic career Shaath received his master's degree in finance from the Wharton School of the Uni ...

, the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

's chief negotiator. Another official,

Yasser Abed Rabbo Yasser Abed Rabbo () also known by his '' kunya'', Abu Bashar () (born 1944) is a Palestinian politician and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee. Biography Early life and career Born in Jaffa in 1944 ...

, said, "The settlements represent a

time bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...

, and we think that in order to overcome many difficulties on the security level, this issue must be resolved, and resolved soon".

References

{{Palestinian Islamic Jihad Suicide bombings in 1994 Suicide bombing in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1994 crimes in Palestine 20th century in the Gaza Strip Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine attacks Improvised explosive device bombings in Palestine Attacks on buildings and structures in the Gaza Strip Attacks on military installations in 1994 November 1994 in Asia November 1994 crimes Attacks on military installations in Palestine Road transport bombings