Sheik Ahmed Yassin who was a Palestinian imam, a Muslim leader of the line of Ali held by Shiites to be the divinely appointed, sinless, infallible successors of Muhammad and politician. Sheik Ahmed Yassin had been the founder of Hamas had said that the suicide bomber was "an exceptional weapon" and that; "The Jews attack and kill our civilians - we will kill theirs. When the first drop of the martyr's blood spills on the ground, he goes to paradise. His victims, the Jews, go to hell."
Under the leadership of Sheik Ahmed Yassin Hamas gained popularity in Palestinian society by establishing hospitals, education systems, libraries and other services, but it has also claimed responsibility for a number of suicide attacks targeting Israeli civilians, leading to its designation as a terrorist organization by the European Union, Israel, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Hamas opposes the peace process and the very existence of the state of Israel.
Yassin, who was a quadriplegic, was also nearly blind. He had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12 In his youth he like Arafat he had became involved with a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was killed on 22 March 2004 when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers.
The Matza restaurant suicide bombing occurred on March 31, 2002, when a "Falestinian" Hamas suicide bomber detonated his bomb inside the popular Matza restaurant in Haifa, Israel, near the Grand Canyon shopping mall, murdering 16 Israeli civilians and injuring over 40 people.The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that the bombings would continue as long as the siege of then President of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat in Ramallah during Israel's Operation Defensive Shield that was meant to stop such attacks stayed in effect stayed in effect. In addition, Hamas spokesman stated that the suicide bomber was a 22-year-old Palestinian named Shadi Tubasi who originated from the Jenin area.
Shadi Tubasi |
Ron family
Aviel Ron, 54, of Haifa
Anat Ron, 21, of Haifa
Ofer Ron, 18, of Haifa
Koren family
Shimon Koren, 55, of Haifa
Ran Koren, 18, of Haifa
Gal Koren, 15, of Haifa
Shiran family
Adi Shiran, 17, of Haifa
Shimon Shiran, 57, of Haifa – died of his injuries on April 11, 2009 after
remaining hospitalized for seven years.
Additional victims
Suheil Adawi, 32, of the Bedouin village of Turan
Dov Chernobroda, 67, of Haifa
Moshe Levin, 52, of Haifa
Danielle Menchel, 22, of Haifa
Orly Ofir, 16, of Haifa
Ya'akov Shani, 53, of Haifa
Daniel Carlos Wegman, 50, of Haifa
Carlos Yerushalmi, 52, of Karkur – died of his injuries on April 1, 2002
The co owned Christian Arab-Jewish Maxim restaurant, which is located at the seafront near the southern boundary of the city of Haifa, was frequently attended by both Arab and Jewish local populations, and was widely seen as a symbol of peaceful coexistence in Haifa. The restaurant is also the favorite dining place of the famous Israeli football club Maccabi Haifa.
On October 4, 2003, the 28-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat from Jenin in Shomron -the Northern "West Bank" detonated the explosive belt she was wearing inside the restaurant and 21 Israelis (18 Jews and 3 Christian Arabs from Fassuta on the border with Lebanon) were murdered. 51 others were wounded. The bomb included metal fragments packed around the explosive core,that sprayed around the restaurant, maximizing lethal effect. According to Haifa
police sources, the aftermath was gruesome, with some of the dead still sitting upright at their tables, while others, including children and babies, were slammed against the walls. Due to the force of the explosion, all that remained of Jaradat was her head.
Among the victims were two families-(Grandparents and their grandchildren) and four children, including a two-month-old baby. Three Maccabi Haifa officials were lightly injured in the bombing.
Oren Almog, who was ten years old at time of the bombing, survived the attack but was blinded by the blast. He lost two of his grandparents, his father, his brother and his cousin.
The names of the victims murdered in cold-blood:
Five members of the Almog family:
Admiral of Israeli navy (res.) Ze'ev Almog, 71, of Haifa[4][5]
Ruth Almog, 70, of Haifa
Moshe Almog, 43, of Haifa
Tomer Almog, 9, of Haifa
Assaf Staier, 11, of Haifa
Five members of the Zer-Aviv family:
Brurua Zer-Aviv, 59, of Kibbutz Yagur
Bezalel Zer-Aviv, 30, of Kibbutz Yagur
Keren Zer-Aviv, 29, of Kibbutz Yagur
Liran Zer-Aviv, 4, of Kibbutz Yagur
Noya Zer-Aviv, 1, of Kibbutz Yagur
The other victims were:
Nir Regev, 25, of Nahariya
Zvi Bahat, 35, of Haifa
Mark Biano, 29, of Haifa
Naomi Biano, 25, of Haifa
Irena Sofrin, 38, of Kiryat Bialik
Lydia Zilberstein, 56, of Haifa, died of her injuries on October 9
The Christian Arab victims:
Hana Francis, 39, of Fassuta, head waiter.
Sharbal Matar, 23, of Fassuta, waiter
Mutanus Karkabi, 31, of Haifa, security guard
Osama Najar, 28, of Haifa, cook
George Matar, 58, of Haifa, died of his injuries on October 15
At the time of her suicide, Hanadi Tayseer Abdul Malek Jaradat was a law student due to qualify as a lawyer in a few weeks. She had studied law at Yarmouk University in Jordan. Instead of going to the law firm where she was articling, she went to Haifa and blew herself up in a crowded restaurant. Jaradat reportedly carried out the bombing as an act of revenge after Israel Defense Forces undercover operatives in Jenin killed her cousin (Salah, 34) and her younger brother (Fadi, 25), both of whom were members of Islamic Jihad, with her cousin being considered to be a senior member of the Al-Quds Brigades group. Earlier, when she was 21, her fiancé had been killed by Israeli security forces. Following the killing of her cousin and brother, Jaradat went into mourning and began study of the Koran and fasting two days a week.
And what was the "Falestinian" response?
Jaradat was proclaimed by the Islamic Jihad as the "Bride of Haifa" to honor her "marriage to the soil of her homeland", an honor previously reserved only to men. Within several days of the bombing, trophy cards with her picture, labelled "Hanadi the Bride of Haifa", were being handed out in Gaza.
In response to his daughter's actions, her father Taisir declined all condolences, instead saying that he was proud of what his daughter had done, and that "I will accept only congratulations for what she did. This was a gift she gave me, the homeland and the Palestinian people."
A member of Hamas Walid Fayad, who was the mourning for the suicide bomber Shadi Tubasi at his home was asked by an Australian reporter; "Why attack Israeli civilians?" answered "When the Israeli started the targeted assassination of our leaders, we decided that if any of our martyrs could get into Israel and reach a target where people are gathered in a restaurant or a street, then they should explode themselves there.
Khaled, another member of Hamas and a hotel worker, spoke in wonderment of a martyr's encounter at the gates of heaven as someone having their file checked: "There will be blessings for 70 of his family and friends. The 72 virgins are real - their skin is so pale and beautiful that you can see the blood in their veins. If one of these virgins spits in the ocean, the seawater becomes sweet. The martyr is so special he does not feel the pain of being in the grave and all that his family has to do to cleanse his file thoroughly, is to repay his outstanding debts."
Hamas sources had priced a complete suicide-bombing mission at up to $4500 US. However, a document of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade; which grew out of the impoverished Balata refugee camp on the outskirts of Nablus, in an attempt by Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction to mobilize younger members who were switching allegiance to the hugely popular Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The document which was recovered from the wreckage of Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah during Israel's Operation Defensive Shield, labeled the document as the "invoice of terror" for it itemized the cost for manufacturing suicide bomb belts at cost NIS700 sheckels to produce.
In October 2012, the Arab Lawyers Union awarded their top award to Hanadi Jaradat, and sent a delegation to her family to present them with the award. Ayman Abu Eisheh, who is a member of the Palestine Committee at the Arab Lawyers Union, explained that the lawyers were proud of Jaradat, saying that suicide bombing was "in defense of Palestine and the Arab nation."