Human bombers have struck over a 100 times
Palestinian groups have a long history of mounting resistance attacks in retaliation to Israeli actions but the bombing of the bus in Jerusalem killing 20 and injuring 100 is one of the most severe.
Since April 1993 when the first human bomb attack was documented, about 115 similar attacks have taken place in different parts of Israel.
Either Hamas, Islamic Jihad or the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade have claimed responsibility for these attacks. A few have been joint operations for which two or more of the groups have claimed responsibility.
Tuesday’s explosion was one of the most devastating since the declaration of an interim truce by the Palestinian resistance groups.
Following is a list of some resistance bombings against Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
7 July: an elderly woman died and three of her grandchildren were injured in Kfar Yavetz, north east of Tel Aviv.
11 June: 17 people were killed and over 100 wounded in an attack on a bus in the centre of Jerusalem.
5 March:17 people were killed and 53 wounded in a human bomb explosion in Haifa.
5 January: 22 people were killed and about 120 wounded in a double human bomb attack near the old Central Bus Station in Tel-Aviv. The attack was carried out by two members of the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, with the help of the Islamic Jihad.
21 November 2002: 11 people were killed and some 50 wounded on a bus during rush hour in an explosion caused by a human bomber in Jerusalem.
21 October 2002: 14 people were killed and 50 wounded when a car bomb containing 100 kg of explosives was detonated next to a bus in Wadi Ara. The bus had pulled over at a bus stop when the human bomber, from Jenin, driving a jeep, approached it from behind and sparked the explosion.
4 August 2002: Nine people were killed and some 50 wounded on a bus at the Meron junction in northern Israel.
19 June 2002: Seven people were killed and 50 injured when a human bomber blew himself up at a crowded bus stop and hitchhiking post at the French Hill intersection in northern Jerusalem shortly after dusk, as people were returning home from work.
18 June 2002: 19 people were killed and 74 injured a day earlier when a human bomber triggered an explosion in a bus in the centre of Jerusalem. The bus carrying students was completely destroyed.
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5 June 2002: 17 people were killed and 38 injured when a car packed with a large quantity of explosives rammed a bus at the Megiddo junction near Afula. The bus, which burst into flames, was completely destroyed.
7 May 2002: 16 people were killed and 55 wounded when a human bomber triggered an explosion in a crowded game club in Rishon Lezion, southeast of Tel-Aviv. A part of the building collapsed due to the explosion.
31 March 2002: 15 people were killed and over 40 injured in a human bomb explosion in Haifa, in a restaurant attached to the gas station near the Grand Canyon shopping mall.
27 March 2002: 30 people were killed and 140 injured in a human bomb explosion at the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya.
The very first documented attack of a martyrdom operation – as called by resistance movements – took place on 16 April 1993 when 22-year-old Sahar Tamam Nabulsi loaded a Mitsubishi van with cooking-gas canisters, placed a Quran on the passenger seat, and rammed into two buses, killing himself, another Palestinian, and injuring eight Israelis.