Date: September 3, 2001
Source: Excerpted from Bridges for Peace (By Clarence H. Wagner, Jr.)
FOUR BOMBS IN JERUSALEM, SIX LIGHTLY WOUNDED
The morning of September 3 was one of good fortune in the
capital city of Jerusalem, when two car bombs and two explosives went off
at various locations, causing hardly any injuries. Early in the morning,
one explosive went off under a parked truck in Ma'alot Daphna near Ramat
Eshkol, while another one blew up close to midnight in a building in the
northern neighborhood of French Hill. Around 8 AM, a car blew up in the
French Hill shopping center, while at the same time in the south, a bomb
was detonated in the trunk of a municipality vehicle in Gilo. Six people
were lightly injured in all, and two were treated for shock.
The police assume that one cell was responsible for all four
bombs - including the car in Gilo, which had been parked at night in a
northern neighborhood - and that their intention was to hit children on
their way to school. In fact, an eyewitness to the second French Hill
explosion said that it was a miracle that the bomb did not wound many
children. "It was just a matter of minutes, or less, because that is where
the #4 bus drops off many children on their way to school," he said.
A group calling itself the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades took
responsibility for
the bombings. The group is named for the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine leader slain by Israel last week. Asked how the terrorists had
managed to place four bombs without being detected, Jerusalem Police Chief
Mickey Levy said that the police concentrated most of its forces elsewhere
in the city today, in anticipation of a large Israeli-Arab demonstration
outside the Supreme Court. He also said that it is impossible to protect
northern Jerusalem
hermetically against terrorists who arrive from Ramallah. (Arutz 7,
September 3, 2001)
PRAYER FOCUS: We thank the Lord for His protection from the
devastating effects of bombs. What a miracle day in Jerusalem!
SCRIPTURE: "I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; I will
tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing
praise to Your name, O Most High. My enemies turn back; they stumble and
perish before You" (Ps. 9:1-3).
Date: September 2, 2001
Source: The Jerusalem Post (Excerpted from an article by Etgar Lefkovits and David Rudge)
SOLDIER RAISES ALARM ABOUT BOMB
"... a bombing at the Golani Junction Friday, in which no one was hurt, kept the North in a state of alert throughout the weekend..."
"...the device was spotted before it exploded by a soldier, who raised the alarm. The entire area -- one of the North's main intersections -- was sealed off by police, and sappers were called in to deal with the device, but it exploded. Because the area had been cleared, there were no casualties..."
Date: August 29, 2001
Source: The Jerusalem Post (Excerpted from an article by Margot Dudkevitch)
SUICIDE BOMBING IN BEERSHEBA THWARTED
A Palestinian terrorist from Gaza who had planned to perpetrate a suicide bombing in a shopping center in Beersheba was arrested late Monday night..."
Date: August 16, 2001
Source: The Jerusalem Post (Excerpted from article by Margot Dudkevitch)
TERROR CELL THAT PLANNED HAIFA-AREA ATTACK ARRESTED
Three members of an Islamic Jihad terror cell from Jenin were arrested on Friday while planning an attack in the Haifa area. The 10-kg bomb they hidden was detonated by police sappers.
Date: August 9, 2001
Source: Excerpted from Bridges for Peace (By Clarence H. Wagner, Jr.)
BOMB ROCKS DOWNTOWN JERUSALEM
"...How close did this come to home? Last night, two of our BFP
volunteers ate dinner in this restaurant. This morning, one of our
volunteers met a friend on the corner in front of Sbarros. This afternoon,
his wife and two sons were on the way to the BFP office and were delayed
when one of the boys could not find his wallet, which was subsequently
found.in his pocket! Their bus stop in town is on King George Street a
block before this intersection, which they walk through to get to us. They
were in the bus on King George St. when the bomb exploded and had they made
the earlier bus, they may have been exactly in this intersection. The
delay may have saved their lives. We are grateful for their safety. This
morning, as I drove to work, I was thinking how blessed I was to be living
in Jerusalem, and no matter what people are saying about the conflict here,
I feel at peace. Ironically, I had that thought as I was driving on King
George St. at this intersection in front of the Sbarro restaurant, while
watching busy Jerusalemites hurrying to work to start their day..."
Date: August 8, 2001
Source: Jerusalem Post
SUICIDE BOMBER FAILS TO REACH HIS OBJECTIVE!
A suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley this morning, killing himself and lightly injuring a soldier. An army spokesman said that the driver detonated a charge as a soldier approached the vehicle to check the driver’s identification papers. It wasn’t clear if he had intended to blow himself up at the checkpoint or did so because of the high state of alert there. Two soldiers were also lightly wounded when a roadside bomb exploded next to an army convoy on Mt. Ebal near Nablus.
Note: The suicide car bomber was headed for a more populated area - Praise the L-rd that he was prevented from going there & also that the soldier was only lightly wounded! The same goes for the two soldiers who were only lightly wounded when a roadside bomb exploded!
Date: August 7, 2001
Source: Arutz 7
JERUSALEM GARDENERS "FIX" PIPE (BOMB)
"Two Jerusalem Municipality gardeners working in the park adjacent
to the King David Hotel found a pipe bomb that measured 8 X 20 centimeters (3 X 8
inches). They were unaware that the pipe was a bomb, deciding to open it
with a wrench. After they opened it, white gunpowder poured out which they
thought was salt. After a smoking break, the gardeners tossed their
cigarette butts into the "salt" which then exploded. There were no
injuries to the two Arab gardeners."
Date: Aug. 6, 2001
Source: Christian Friends of Israel
BOMBING AVERTED
"Today, another bombing was averted when police arrested a Palestinian women from Nablus who tried to enter the central bus station in Tel Aviv with a bomb. Security guards challenged her and she dropped the bag in which the bomb was hidden."
Date: Aug. 6, 2001
Source: Christian Friends of Israel
TWO SUICIDE BOMBINGS AVERTED
"Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car in Palestinian-ruled Tulkarem, killing a senior member of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas. Israel said that the victim, 23-year-old Amer Mansour Habiri, was responsible for a wave of bombings and shootings in Samaria. Officials said he was transporting explosives in the car, which he planned to give to two suicide bombers for imminent attacks inside Israel. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer said Israeli forces captured one of the bombers today near Tulkarem."
Date: Aug. 3, 2001
Source: David Rudge and Arieh O'Sullivan, The Jerusalem Post
ALERT BUS DRIVER THWARTS BOMBING
"The alertness and courage of an Egged bus driver yesterday
prevented what police said would have been a horrific bomb
attack by a teenage Palestinian south of Beit She'an.
A bag carried by the terrorist, about 17, was found to contain
three mortar shells, explosives, and a detonator.
Had it exploded on board the packed No. 963 bus en route from
Jerusalem to Kiryat Shmona, most of the passengers would have been killed
or badly wounded.
Instead the driver, Menashe Nuriel, pushed the would-be bomber off his bus, got the bag away from him, and subdued him with the help of soldiers and border policemen. Nuriel then drove the bus some 30 meters (100 feet) away from the bag.
Police believe the would-be terrorist was aided by one or more others, and a wide-scale search operation was still underway for them last night.
Shortly after 1:00 pm, Nuriel stopped the bus to pick up a lone passenger at the Tel Teumim junction south of Beit She'an. "He looked suspicious," said Nuriel. "I tried to question him about where he wanted to go, and I saw that he stammered and was uncertain. "He put the bag on the floor. I looked down and saw wires and what looked like a switch sticking out. I immediately grabbed [him] and pushed him outside and away from the bag, which fell to the ground near the bus.
"I struggled with him a bit. I tried to drag him away from the bag, because I was afraid he might have a remote control device, and at the same time I called for the soldiers [on the bus] to help me. "At some point, I think I said to myself, or maybe I shouted it, that it was better that he and I be killed than all my passengers. There were about 45 people on board at the time." Nuriel said there was a point when he thought the youth tried to detonate the bomb. "Fortunately, he was not very big or strong, and I was able to overcome him. Afterward, when I knew the soldiers had him, I got back on the bus and drove 30-40 meters (100-130 feet) away from the bag," he said.
Police think the Palestinian had been chosen for the attack because of his youth, as he would look as if he were on his way to the annual music festival, set for this weekend, at Tzemah beach on the Kinneret.
Large numbers of policemen arrived quickly, and the road was closed as sappers inspected and then safely detonated the bomb. The incident underlined the problems of preventing terrorist infiltrations along the Green Line and reaffirmed what police said is the need for the public to be on the alert and immediately report any suspicious objects, persons, or vehicles."
Date: August 3, 2001
Source: The Jerusalem Post (Excerpted from article by Margot Dudkevitch)
TERRORIST KILLLED BY OWN BOMB IN IDF SHOOTING AT MT. EBAL
"...soldiers saw two armed men planting a bomb on the road and shot at them. The bomb exploded as a result of the shooting, killing one of the terrorists...and injuring the other, who fled toward the Palestinian Authority-controlled area. A short time later, a gun battle broke out between the soldiers and Palestinians. The Palestinians claim six were wounded. At the same time, soldiers spotted an additional bomb on the road and detonated it..."
Date July 27, 2001
Source: Excerpted from an article by Etgar Lefkovits, The Jerusalem Post, July 29,
2001
WATERMELON BOMB DISCOVERED BY BUS DRIVER
"A terrorist bombing was averted in Jerusalem late in the
afternoon on July 27, when a bomb hidden in a watermelon was discovered on
an Egged bus.
The driver of the #39 bus discovered the booby-trapped fruit while doing a routine check after finishing his route near the Jerusalem mall in Malha, just after 5:00 PM. The driver summoned police, and around 6:00 PM a bomb disposal unit safely neutralized the explosive device. Security officials used an electronic robot to remove what police sources said was a 5-7 kg. (11-15 lb.) bomb that was rigged with nails and screws from the insides of the watermelon."
Date: July 29, 2001
Source: By Amiram Cohen and Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz, August 3, 2001
CAR BOMB ATTACK FIZZLES IN NORTH JERUSALEM
"A car bomb exploded on July 29 in the parking garage of a
seven-story building in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, leaving
only two people lightly injured. According to sources in the security
establishment, terrorists planted the bomb in the underground parking
garage with the intention of destroying the entire building and causing
dozens of Israeli casualties. This is why the terror attack was carried out
in the afternoon, the sources said.
Police sappers are currently investigating the composition and design of the bomb to ascertain whether the explosive device could indeed have brought the building down. The sappers are also hoping that their investigation into the make-up of the device will shed light on the terror organization behind the attack.
Security sources said the outcome of the terror strike had been miraculously mild because the gas canisters included in the device had failed to explode. "If the device had exploded with its full force, we might have faced a terror attack more serious than [the one] at the Dolphinarium," the sources said."
Date: July 22, 2001
Source:
SUICIDE BOMBING FOILED IN HAIFA
"A would-be Palestinian suicide bomber was captured on July 22 in
Haifa after he apparently underwent a last-minute change of heart. Caught
in an operation involving hundreds of security personnel, the suspect
immediately confessed his plans and led the way to where he had hidden his
explosives.
The beefed-up security measures, which helped prevent the planned attack in the heart of Haifa, are to remain in force in light of ongoing warnings of impending terror attacks in the region. The would-be suicide bomber, a resident of a Palestinian refugee camp near Jenin, had been primed to carry out a deadly attack with as many as 14 pipe bombs strapped to his body in a place crowded with people in the heart of Haifa.
It appears that the terrorist had a last-minute change of heart after being beaten by activists from the Islamic Jihad's military wing shortly before he was sent on his suicide mission. The suspect, apparently a member of the Islamic Jihad, took police to a derelict building awaiting renovation in the center of Haifa's Hadar district, near stores and the Migdal Hanevi'im offices and shopping complex. He had evidently intended to detonate the device, made up of several bombs, in a crowded place, and had even made a phone call to his operators to ask for instructions.
His capture and the safe detonation of the explosives undoubtedly prevented many casualties and could lead to further information about other planned terror attacks, security sources said.
Subsequently a member of the terrorist cell was killed by undercover border policemen at his home in a village near Jenin on July 23 and two other members of the Islamic Jihad cell have been arrested, bringing an end to the police dragnet imposed on Haifa and other parts of the North."
Let's continue to pray that the attempts of terrorists to kill, destroy, and maim will be totally ineffective. Pray that God will continue to give sharp eyes to bus drivers, security forces, the army, and the average person on the street. We thank God that He has answered our prayers to stop the terror attacks in such a visual and dramatic way.
SCRIPTURE: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior - from violent men You save me" (II Sam. 22:2-3)