The Ramat Rachel shooting attack was a

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

carried out by

Jordanian Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Arabizatio ...

soldiers, on 23 September 1956, who opened fire across the Israel/Jordan border on a group of Israeli

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

working inside Israeli sovereign territory near Kibbutz

Ramat Rachel Ramat Rachel () is a kibbutz located in central Israel. An enclave within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, near the neighborhoods Arnona and Talpiot, and overlooking Bethlehem and Rachel's Tomb (for which the kibbutz is named), it falls unde ...

. Four Israeli archaeologists were killed in the event and 16 others were wounded.

The attack

On Sunday, 23 September 1956, a tour was held for a group of Israeli archaeologists at the archaeological excavations near Kibbutz

. During the tour machine-gun fire was opened on the archaeologists from Jordanian positions at

Mar Elias Monastery Mar Elias Monastery (, ) is a Greek Orthodox monastery in south Jerusalem, on a hill overlooking Bethlehem and Herodium, near . History Origin of the name, other traditions According to Christian tradition, Elijah rested here after fleeing the ...

near the

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

road. The fire killed four people, including the archaeologist

Jacob Pinkerfeld Jacob Pinkerfield (; 1897 – 23 September 1956) was an Israeli archaeologist and architect. Biography Pinkerfeld was born in Przemyśl, modern-day Poland, in 1897. He joined Hashomer Hatzair in his youth and later studied architecture at the C ...

, and 16 others were wounded. Another person who was seriously injured in the shooting died eventually of his wounds five years later.

Official reactions

* : Jordan expressed regret for the incident and blamed a single soldier who was "suddenly taken by madness".''Israel Rejects Jordan's Claim Madman Killed 3'', Meriden Journal, 24 September 1956, accessed 16 August 2016

* : Israeli foreign ministry spokesman called Jordan's version completely unfounded, quoting witnesses at the event who stated that two submachine guns and three fire arms, rifles were clearly seen firing from two Jordanian army outposts across the border at the archaeologists in Ramat Rachel.

Aftermath

In response to the Ramat Rachel shooting attack, The Israeli Defence Forces carried out the Operation Lulav on 25 September 1956; the counterattack was held in the Arab village

Husan Husan () is a Palestinian town located west of Bethlehem, in the Bethlehem Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Husan had a population of 7,048 in 2017. Husan is located in the Seam Zone of the Israeli-occupi ...

, near

. This operation resulted in the deaths of 39 Jordanian soldiers and 10 Israeli paratroopers.

References

External links

Gunfire Kills Three Israelis
- Published in

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

on 23 September 1956 (dead link as of August 2016) {{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 1950s 1956 murders in Israel Mass murder in 1956 Spree shootings in Asia Child murder in Israel September 1956 in Asia Mass shootings in Jerusalem 1956 mass shootings in Asia History of archaeology Jordan in the Arab–Israeli conflict Arab Legion Jerusalem in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict War crimes in the Arab–Israeli conflict 20th-century mass murder in Jerusalem 1950s in Jerusalem