Meron Junction Bus 361 attack: Difference between revisions

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Last edited December 14, 2025
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{{Short description|Suicide terror attack}}
{{Short description|Hamas suicide bombing in 2002}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
{{pp|small=yes}}
|title=Meron Junction Bus 361 attack
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}{{Infobox terrorist attack
|partof=the [[Second Intifada]] militancy campaign
| title           = Meron Junction Bus 361 attack
|map=<div style="width:250px; float:none; clear:none;"><div style="position: relative; padding: 0px; width:250px">[[File:Israel outline northwest.png|250px]]
| partof           = the [[Second Intifada]] militancy campaign
<br /><div style="position: absolute; z-index: 2; top: 33.2%; left: 95.9%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">
| map             = {{Location map|Israel northeast|caption=|float=center}}
<div style="position: relative; text-align: center; left: -4px; top: -4px; width: 8px; font-size: 8px; z-index:100;">[[File:Red pog.svg|7px]]</div><div style="font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; z-index:90; position: relative; top: -1.5em; width: 6em; right: 6.5em; text-align: center;"><span style="padding: 1px;">'''The attack site'''</span></div></div></div></div>
|map_caption=The attack site
|caption=
| location         = Meron Junction, [[Israel]]
|location=Meron junction, [[Israel]]
| native_name      = הפיגוע בקו 361 בצומת מירון
| coordinates = {{coord|32|59|18|N|35|26|37|E|display=inline}}
| native_name_lang = he
|target=
| coordinates     = {{coord|32|59|18|N|35|26|37|E|display=inline,title}}
|date=August 4, 2002<br>8:45 am
| target           =  
|time-begin=
| date             = {{start date and age|2002|08|04}}
|time-end=
| time            = {{Circa}} 8:45 am
|timezone=
| time-begin       =  
|type=[[suicide bombing]]
| time-end         =  
|fatalities=6 Israeli civilians and 3 soldiers (+ 1 bomber)
| timezone         = UTC+2
|injuries=38
| type             = [[Suicide bombing]]
|perps=[[Hamas]] claimed responsibility
| weapon          = [[Suicide vest]]
| fatalities       = 6 Israeli civilians and 3 soldiers (+1 bomber)
| injuries         = 38
| perps           =
| perpetrator      = [[Hamas]] claimed responsibility
| numpart          = 1
}}
}}
The '''Meron Junction Bus 361 attack''' was a [[suicide bombing]] which occurred on August 4, 2002 on an [[Egged (company)|Egged]] bus in the Meron junction in northern Israel near [[Safed]]. 9 people were killed in the attack and 38 people were injured.
On August 4, 2002, a [[Palestinian suicide attacks|Palestinian suicide bomber]] from the militant group [[Hamas]] conducted a [[suicide bombing]] aboard an [[Egged (company)|Egged]] bus at the Meron junction in northern Israel near [[Safed]]. In addition to the bomber, six Israeli civilians, and three Israeli soldiers were killed. Thirty-eight people were injured.<ref name="salaries" /><ref name="CNN">{{cite news |title=Latest terror attacks kill 12 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/08/04/mideast/ |access-date=22 September 2023 |work=CNN |date=2002-08-04}}</ref>


The Palestinian Islamist militant organization [[Hamas]] claimed responsibility for the attack.
[[Hamas]] subsequently publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike against a Hamas commander and to express displeasure with a UN-sponsored investigation into the Israeli incursion into the Jenin refugee camp that April.<ref name="CNN" />


==Attack==
[[Saeb Erakat]] condemned the attack, and Palestinian minister [[Nabil Shaath]] claimed that Palestinians were continuing to try to halt attacks on Israel, despite the Israeli actions. The bus attack occurred a week after the [[Hebrew University bombing]], in which a Palestinian attacker affiliated with Hamas killed 9 people.<ref name="CNN" />
On 7:15 am of Thursday, 4 August 2002, Egged bus No. 361 left [[Haifa]] towards [[Safed]] and was full of soldiers on their way to military bases in north Israel. The suicide bomber boarded the bus near [[Karmiel]].


At around 8:45 am, when the bus stopped at the Meron junction bus station, the suicide bomber, who was at the back of the bus, detonated the explosive device hidden underneath his clothes. The blast, which occurred while about 50 passengers were on the bus, caused heavy damage.
On 27 August, Israeli authorities arrested 7 Arab-Israelis, all members of the same family, who allegedly assisted the bomber. According to police, the suspects helped store explosives in a nursery school, dressed the bomber as a tourist, and scouted the target.<ref name="LAT">{{cite news |title=7 Israeli Arabs Arrested in Bus Bombing |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-aug-27-fg-mideast27-story.html |access-date=22 September 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2002-08-27}}</ref>


Six civilians, two of them from the [[Philippines]], and three soldiers were killed in the explosion and 38 other passengers were injured, nine of them critically.
In 2019, Israeli Defense Minister [[Naftali Bennett]] signed an order enabling Israel to seize "[[pay-for-slay]]" payments from the Palestinian Authority to Arab Israelis convicted on terrorism charges. This order included two prisoners who Israeli claimed assisted the Meron Junction bomber.<ref name="salaries">{{cite news |last1=Oster |first1=Marcy |title=Israel will seize 'pay for slay' salaries paid to Arab-Israeli prisoners |url=https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/israel-will-seize-pay-for-slay-salaries-paid-to-arab-israeli-prisoners |access-date=22 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2019-12-26}}</ref>
 
== External links ==
* [http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/2002/Pages/August%204-%202002-%2013%20dead%20in%20a%20day%20of%20terror.aspx August 4, 2002: 13 dead in a day of terror] - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2171227.stm Israel bus attack causes carnage] - published on [[BBC News]] on 4 August 2002
* [https://nypost.com/2002/08/05/israels-week-of-bloodshed-bus-bomb-kills-9-as-4-other-innocents-are-shot-to-death/ Israel's week of bloodshed: bus bomb kills 9 as 4 other innocents are shot to death] - published on the [[New York Post]] on August 5, 2002


==References==
==References==
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{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 2000s}}
{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 2000s}}
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s}}
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s}}
 
{{Hamas}}
[[Category:Mass murder in 2002]]
[[Category:2002 mass murders]]
[[Category:Hamas suicide bombings of buses]]
[[Category:Hamas suicide bombings of buses]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2002]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2002]]
[[Category:August 2002 events in Asia]]
[[Category:August 2002 in Asia]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorism in Israel]]
[[Category:Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada]]
[[Category:Suicide bombings in 2002]]
[[Category:August 2002 crimes in Asia]]
[[Category:20th-century mass murders in Israel]]
[[Category:2002 murders in Israel]]
[[Category:Suicide bombings in Israel]]

Latest revision as of 15:42, 14 December 2025

Meron Junction Bus 361 attack
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 501: Unable to find the specified location map definition: "Module:Location map/data/Israel northeast" does not exist.
The attack site
Native nameהפיגוע בקו 361 בצומת מירון
LocationMeron Junction, Israel
Coordinates32°59′18″N 35°26′37″E / 32.98833°N 35.44361°E / 32.98833; 35.44361
DateAugust 4, 2002; 24 years ago (2002-08-04)
c. 8:45 am (UTC+2)
Attack type
Suicide bombing
WeaponSuicide vest
Deaths6 Israeli civilians and 3 soldiers (+1 bomber)
Injured38
PerpetratorHamas claimed responsibility
Participant1

On August 4, 2002, a Palestinian suicide bomber from the militant group Hamas conducted a suicide bombing aboard an Egged bus at the Meron junction in northern Israel near Safed. In addition to the bomber, six Israeli civilians, and three Israeli soldiers were killed. Thirty-eight people were injured.[1][2]

Hamas subsequently publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike against a Hamas commander and to express displeasure with a UN-sponsored investigation into the Israeli incursion into the Jenin refugee camp that April.[2]

Saeb Erakat condemned the attack, and Palestinian minister Nabil Shaath claimed that Palestinians were continuing to try to halt attacks on Israel, despite the Israeli actions. The bus attack occurred a week after the Hebrew University bombing, in which a Palestinian attacker affiliated with Hamas killed 9 people.[2]

On 27 August, Israeli authorities arrested 7 Arab-Israelis, all members of the same family, who allegedly assisted the bomber. According to police, the suspects helped store explosives in a nursery school, dressed the bomber as a tourist, and scouted the target.[3]

In 2019, Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett signed an order enabling Israel to seize "pay-for-slay" payments from the Palestinian Authority to Arab Israelis convicted on terrorism charges. This order included two prisoners who Israeli claimed assisted the Meron Junction bomber.[1]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Oster, Marcy (December 26, 2019). "Israel will seize 'pay for slay' salaries paid to Arab-Israeli prisoners". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Latest terror attacks kill 12". CNN. August 4, 2002. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. "7 Israeli Arabs Arrested in Bus Bombing". Los Angeles Times. August 27, 2002. Retrieved September 22, 2023.

Template:Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 2000s Template:Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s Template:Hamas