2002 Wadi al-Haramiya sniper attack

Palestinian attack against Israeli targets in West Bank yes March 2023 Wadi al-Haramiya sniper attack the Second Intifada Wadi al-Haramiya checkpoint near Ofra, West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory Israel Defense Forces 31.9919 N 35.2495 E source:wikidata inline March 3, 2002 10 (7 IDF soldiers, 3 Israeli civilians) 6 Tha'ir Kayid Hammad of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades M1 Garand Opposition to Israeli settlements built on Palestinian territories occupied by Israel 1 Life imprisonment A Palestinian sniper attack against Israeli soldiers and civilians took place at Wadi al-Haramiya on March 3, 2002. A lone Palestinian sniper, 22-year-old Tha'ir Kayid Hammad (ar ثائر كايد حمّاد), a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades from the village of Silwad carried out the attack. He had acquired an old World War II-era M1 Garand rifle and 30 rounds of ammunition and had done target practice in the valleys around Silwad. Hammad managed to kill seven Israeli soldiers and three civilians before his rifle exploded while firing his 25th shot, forcing him to give up and escape. He was arrested two years later and sentenced to life imprisonment, and is currently imprisoned in Israel. The incident Wadi al-Haramiya (ar وادي الحرامية Valley of Thieves) is a valley between Ramallah and Nablus on the West Bank.Nimr Sonia Sonia Nimr "A Nation in a Hero": Abdul Rahim Hajj Mohammad and the Arab Revolt LeVine Mark Shafir Gershon Struggle and Survival in Palestine/Israel September 2012 University of California Press 141–142 978-0-520-26253-9 https://books.google.com/books?id=WOhmuwKNMk4C&pg=PA141 The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was maintaining a checkpoint at Uyoun al-Haramiya (the Wells of Haramiya), near the Israeli settlement Ofra, manned by a reserve company. Before dawn on the morning of March 3, 2002, the sniper positioned himself under some olive trees on a hilltop overlooking the checkpoint. At 6:40 he opened fire at the three soldiers manning the checkpoint and the driver of a civilian car, which had stopped at the checkpoint. All four were killed within minutes. Nine Israeli soldiers were inside a barracks building. Platoon commander Lieutenant David Damelin and the unit's medic Yochai Porat emerged from the building to locate the shooter and assist the casualties. Both were shot dead. The remaining soldiers decided to stay inside the building and called for reinforcements. https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/10-slain-near-ofra-soldier-dies-in-gaza-1.51390 10 slain near Ofra; soldier dies in Gaza Haaretz Haaretz Staff March 4, 2002 October 20, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924215139/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/10-slain-near-ofra-soldier-dies-in-gaza-1.51390 September 24, 2015 live registration A patrol jeep that arrived with reinforcements immediately came under fire. The reserve company's sergeant, Avraham Ezra, was killed and several of his men were injured. The rest of the casualties occurred when randomly arriving civilian cars stopped at the checkpoint. Three Israeli civilians and an IDF officer were killed. Tha'ir Hammad claimed in an interview (obtained by unknown means from prison) that the Israelis were armed and that one of them took aim at him but that he shot first. He also claimed that he refrained from harming an Israeli woman and her children, shouting at her in Hebrew and Arabic to leave the area. http://www.alasra.ps/news.php?maa=View&id=477 الأسير القنـاص البطل ثائر حماد / يروي من سجنه لأول مـرة كيف استطاع قتل 11 إسرائيلياً وجرح 8 آخرين فى عملية وادي الحراميـة (Imprisoned heroic sniper Tha'ir Hammad tells for the first time from his prison how he managed to kill 11 Israelis and wound 8 others in the Wadi al-Haramiya operation) The Prisoners Centre for Studies February 9, 2007 October 20, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20071028092616/http://www.alasra.ps/news.php?maa=View&id=477 October 28, 2007 Two of the Israeli civilians killed, Sergei Birmov, 33, and Vadim Balagula, 32, were killed when they stopped their car at the checkpoint, as they made their way to work at a candy factory in Jerusalem. The Israelis never succeeded in locating the sniper's hiding place even after dispatching a helicopter. He had intended to continue shooting but when he fired his 25th bullet the old rifle exploded, rendering it useless. He was thus forced to give up and return to his village. Seven soldiers, two of them officers, and three civilians were killed in the 25-minute attack. Another six Israelis were wounded, four of them seriously. https://www.haaretz.com/news/funerals-held-for-two-of-10-killed-in-w-bank-sniper-attack-1.51451 Funerals held for two of 10 killed in W. Bank sniper attack Ha'aretz Amos Harel, Aliza Arbeli March 3, 2002 https://web.archive.org/web/20160327013420/http://www.haaretz.com/news/funerals-held-for-two-of-10-killed-in-w-bank-sniper-attack-1.51451 March 27, 2016 The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack. Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti praised the attack. "Blessed be the fighting hands of the heroes, who dealt these blows to the army of occupation," he said. The Israeli authorities assumed that the shooter was a highly trained marksman from an elite unit, such as Force 17. The average Palestinian militant could not be expected to hit 16 targets with 25 bullets.June 2026 Mossad also contacted European and American security agencies to help identify the killer. Mossad suspected that a member of the Irish Republican Army could be responsible for the act.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1387326/IRA-link-to-PLO-examined-in-hunt-for-deadly-sniper.html IRA link to PLO examined in hunt for deadly sniper Sean Rayment The Telegraph March 10, 2002 September 17, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20230404224307/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1387326/IRA-link-to-PLO-examined-in-hunt-for-deadly-sniper.html April 4, 2023 The sniper became a hero among local residents.June 2026 Haaretz veteran military correspondent Ze'ev Schiff called the incident "[o]ne of most stinging and bizarre fiascoes" of the IDF in the Second Intifada: "the entire incident can only be described as a massive blunder and a disgrace for the IDF. No excuse can be accepted. This sort of incident cannot be blamed on the lower ranks." https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-has-yet-to-learn-its-roadblock-lesson-1.51369 IDF has yet to learn its roadblock lesson Haaretz Ze'ev Schiff March 4, 2002 October 20, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924222731/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-has-yet-to-learn-its-roadblock-lesson-1.51369 September 24, 2015 A series of investigations were carried out with the apparent purpose of exonerating the senior officers and putting the full blame on the soldiers at the checkpoint. The scandal led to a major overhaul of rules for IDF probes. https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/an-attack-on-idf-probes-1.151591 An attack on IDF probes Haaretz Gideon Alon February 28, 2005 October 20, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20160406204816/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/an-attack-on-idf-probes-1.151591 April 6, 2016 Capture and imprisonment On the night of October 3, 2004, following a manhunt by the IDF and Shin Bet, Tha'ir Kayid Hammad was arrested by an IDF force of the Duchifat Battalion.https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/sniper-who-killed-10-israelis-arrested-1.136682 Sniper who killed 10 Israelis arrested Haaretz Amos Harel October 6, 2004 September 17, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924230602/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/sniper-who-killed-10-israelis-arrested-1.136682 September 24, 2015https://www.haaretz.co.il/1.1004284 אחרי שנתיים: נעצר הצלף שהרג 10 ישראלים במחסום ואדי חרמיה הארץ October 5, 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20170707101654/https://www.haaretz.co.il/1.1004284 July 7, 2017 הראל עמוס He was tried, convicted, and given 11 life sentences.https://www.haaretz.com/i-forgave-him-1.7294 I forgave him Haaretz Kobi Ben-Simhon November 24, 2009 September 17, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924153509/http://www.haaretz.com/i-forgave-him-1.7294 September 24, 2015 live registration Hammad is incarcerated in Nafha Prison in the Negev. In 2015, he was put in solitary confinement after issuing a statement calling for Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem to revolt over Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa.https://english.palinfo.com/news/2015/9/21/IOA-isolates-Palestinian-prisoner/ IOA isolates Palestinian prisoner September 21, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20180629102319/https://english.palinfo.com/news/2015/9/21/IOA-isolates-Palestinian-prisoner/ June 29, 2018 In 2017, he was reportedly injured in a clash with prison guards.http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=774713 https://web.archive.org/web/20180629130754/http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=774713 June 29, 2018 وكـالـة مـعـا الاخـبـارية Fatalities IDF soldiers: Capt. Ariel Hovav, 25, of Elihttp://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000 MFA September 17, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110605230506/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm June 5, 2011 Lt. (res.) David Damelin, 29, of Kibbutz Metzar 1st Sgt. (res.) Rafael Levy, 42, of Rishon LeZion Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Avraham Ezra, 38, of Kiryat Bialik Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Eran Gad, 24, of Rishon LeZion Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Yochai Porat, 26, of Kfar Saba Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Kfir Weiss, 24, of Beit Shemesh Civilians: Sergei Birmov, 33, of Ariel Vadim Balagula, 32, of Ariel Didi Yitzhak, 66, of Eli See also 2002 Hebron ambush Ein 'Arik checkpoint attack References External links Category:Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada Category:2002 in Palestine Category:March 2002 in Asia Category:Deaths by firearm in the West Bank Category:Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades attacks Category:Sniper attacks