2002 Hebron ambush

Palestinian Islamic Jihad attack during the Second Intifada yes June 2020 2002 Hebron ambush the Second Intifada 15 November 2002 Hebron, West Bank, Palestinian territories Palestinian Islamic Jihad victory Israel Israel Palestinian Islamic Jihad Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Israel tsahal Col. Dror WeinbergFlag of the Israel Border Police.svg Samih Sweidan Palestinian Islamic Jihad Muhannad Sadr Israel tsahal IDF Nahal BrigadeFlag of the Israel Border Police.svg Israeli Border PoliceIsrael Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team Palestinian Islamic Jihad Jerusalem Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Israel tsahal UnknownFlag of the Israel Border Police.svg Unknown Palestinian Islamic Jihad 3 fighters Israel 12 killedIsrael 14 wounded Palestinian Islamic Jihad 3 killed The 2002 Hebron ambush took place in the Wadi an-Nasara neighborhood in Hebron in the West Bank on 15 November 2002. Israeli forces were subjected to a double attack by fighters from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The battle was referred to in Israel as "The attack on the worshippers' route" (he הפיגוע בציר המתפללים) http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2696873,00.html כתב אישום: תכנן את הפיגוע בציר המתפללים בחברון (Indictment: He planned the attack on worshipers' route in Hebron) Yedioth Acharonoth Felix Frisch 17 July 2003 13 November 2011 The place where the attack took place became known as the "Alley of Death" in both Hebrew and Arabic. The ambush was initially dubbed the "Sabbath massacre" (he טבח השבת) by official Israeli spokespersons. The attacks were carried out by three Palestinian fighters in a narrow alley, off of the passage from the Tomb of the Patriarchs to the south gate of Kiryat Arba. Twelve Israeli soldiers and security guards, including three high-ranking officers, were killed in the battle, as were all three of the Palestinian fighters. The ambush One of the fighters positioned himself near the front of the entry gate of Kiryat Arba from Hebron. The remaining two fighters positioned themselves near a narrow alley, off the road used as a passage by Jewish worshipers heading to Kiryat Arba from the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Four Nahal Brigade soldiers on patrol, accompanied by Border Police jeeps were heading out of the "Worshippers Way" after patrol that area. In addition, two additional Nahal soldiers were positioned in an observation post located nearby and several more IDF soldiers were located near the exit gate of Kiryat Arba. Settlers from Kiryat Arba visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron for a Sabbath eve service were escorted home by Israeli soldiers. A few minutes after the all clear signal indicating that the settlers had returned safely, the first bullets were fired.https://www.haaretz.com/news/analysis-the-attack-in-hebron-was-not-a-massacre-1.28114 https://web.archive.org/web/20140226174731/http://www.haaretz.com/news/analysis-the-attack-in-hebron-was-not-a-massacre-1.28114 dead 26 February 2014 The attack in Hebron was not a 'massacre' Haaretz Amos Harel 17 November 2002 At 6:55 pm the Palestinians opened fire simultaneously on a group of soldiers guarding the south gate of Kiryat Arba and a patrol passing through a narrow alley leading from the Tomb of the Patriarchs to Kiryat Arba. Two soldiers in the alley were wounded. A soldier was killed while trying to evacuate the wounded. The Palestinian fighters moved positions frequently during the more than 4 hours of fighting creating the impression that many more fighters were involved. They lured Israeli forces off the "Path of Worshipers" into the narrow alley, later known as the "Alley of Death". Minutes later Border Police Superintendent Samih Sweidan arrived at the scene and drove immediately into the alley to engage the Palestinian fighters and evacuate the wounded. He and his driver were shot to death at point-blank range as they stepped out of their jeep. Meanwhile, one of the injured soldiers trapped in the alley died of his wounds. Within five minutes, four Israeli soldiers were dead. A few minutes later a fifth soldier was shot and killed. The dead and wounded remained in the alley. http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART/932/957.html לבד, בסמטה, מול מלאך המוות (Alone in the alley, facing the angel of death) NRG (Maariv) Kalman Liebeskind 13 May 2005 10 November 2011 Around 7:15 pm the Palestinian fighters ceased fire, creating the impression that they had run away. At this time the commander of the IDF Hebron Brigade, Colonel Dror Weinberg arrived at the scene. He quickly organized a force of three jeeps and entered the alley. When Weinberg reached Sweidan's jeep he was hit by a bullet to the chest and was severely wounded. After being evacuated he died from his wounds, becoming the highest ranking Israeli casualty of the Second Intifada. Before being hit Col. Weinberg had contacted the settler's security service, the Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team. Around 7:40 pm the head of the response team, Yitzhak Buanish, entered the alley together with a force consisting of his own men and Border Police soldiers. As in the previous rescue attempts, they were ambushed. Buanish and two of his colleagues were killed and another five wounded. Two Border Police officers were also killed in the incident. The first Palestinian fighter was probably killed in this incident as well.May 2015 At 7:50 pm the IDF entered the alley with armored personnel carriers and started engaging the Palestinians. Firing continued until 8:15 pm when the Palestinians stopped firing back and the dead and wounded soldiers could be evacuated. But fighting flared up again.May 2015 Control over the situation was gradually restored with the arrival of reinforcements and commanding officers. Lieutenant Colonel Eran, head of the Nahal Brigade in Hebron, and soldiers from the Duvdevan elite unit, rushed to Hebron from Ramallah, outflanked the two remaining gunmen and killed them. That was close to 11:30 pm, more than four hours after the attack started.May 2015 The Islamic Jihad fighters The attack was carried out by three members of the Jerusalem Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. According to a statement by the Jerusalem Brigades the attack was carried out as revenge for the death of the regional Islamic Jihad leader Iyad Sawalha in Jenin earlier in the week as well as "other crimes against our people". http://www.saraya.ps/forum/showthread.php?t=15591 الكمين الأعظم عملية زقاق الموت ملف كامل (The great ambush, the Alley of Death operation, the complete file) Saraya al-Quds web site 7 November 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20120401201303/http://www.saraya.ps/forum/showthread.php?t=15591 1 April 2012 dead According to Israel, Sawalha was responsible for two suicide bombings that killed 31 Israelis.Israel tightens grip on Hebron https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2483123.stm BBC 17 November 2002 The three fighters were all in their early 20s and enrolled as engineering students at the Palestine Polytechnic University. According to Palestinian sources they had prepared the ambush for more than two months, scouting the area of the attack thoroughly and studying Israeli security arrangements along the road between the Cave of the Patriarchs and Kiryat Arba. The operation was planned as a suicide attack and the participants had written wills. http://www.saraya.ps/index.php?act=Show&id=1726 سرايا القدس: تنشر تفاصيل عملية "زقاق الموت" البطولية بمدينة الخليل (The Jerusalem Brigades publishes the details of the heroic "Alley of Death" operation in the city of Hebron) Saraya al-Quds web site 31 August 2009 20 October 2011 Fatalities Four IDF soldiers (including the Hebron commander), Col. Dror Weinberg (commander of the Hebron brigade), Lt. Dan Cohen, Sgt. Igor Drobitsky and Cpl. David Marcus of the Nahal brigade. https://www.gov.il/en/pages/victims-of-palestinian-violence-and-terrorism Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000 five Border Policemen (including the Hebron Chief of Operations, Ch.-Supt. Samih Sweidan (Hebron Chief of Operations), Sgt. Tomer Nov, Sgt. Gad Rahamim, St.-Sgt. Netanel Makhlouf and St.-Sgt. Yeshayahu Davidov. and three members of the Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team, Yitzhak Buanish (head of the Kiryat Arba Team), Alexander Zwitman and Alexander Dohan were killed in the battle. 14 Israeli soldiers were also wounded in the clash. Three Islamic Jihad fighters died in the clash.Akram 'Abd al-Muhsen al-Hinuni, Walaa' Hashim Da’ud Surour and Dhiyab Muhammad 'Abd al-Mu’ti al-Muhtasib. http://www.aqsaa.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3589 الذكرى السنوية الثانية لعملية الخليل..من هم الثلاثة الذين زلزلوا اركان الصهاينة (The second anniversary of the Hebron operation: Who were the three who shook the foundations of the Zionists) Aqsaa.com Faris as-Saraya 26 September 2004 25 May 2021 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120324090715/http://www.aqsaa.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3589 24 March 2012 The hunt for "Muhannad" Muhannad Sidr was a gifted student at the Hebron University, where he became active in the Islamic Jihad student organization. After graduation he went underground and adopted the cover name "Muhannad". After the killing of a settler in Givat Harsina, Shin Bet realized that Sidr was an important figure in the Jerusalem Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In fact, Sidr was the military head in Hebron. Sidr was steadily building a network of cells of four-five members each. Dror Weinberg early noticed Sidr and made a lot of efforts to catch or kill him. Somehow Sidr always managed to slip away. In December 2001, Sidr was the target of an assassination operation. An Israeli Helicopter fired a missile at the car Sidr was riding in, but it missed its target and hit another car with a civilian family inside, killing two children. "Sidar [sic] is always one step ahead of us", Weinberg complained. Instead of Weinberg ambushing Sidr, it would be Sidr ambushing his nemesis. It was one of Sidr's cells that carried out the ambush in which Weinberg was killed. https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2020-04-30/ty-article/.premium/how-israel-avenged-the-ambush-of-col-dror-weinberg/0000017f-db6f-d3ff-a7ff-fbef72a70000 How an Islamic Jihad mastermind ambushed his Israeli nemesis, and how his death was avenged Haaretz Yossi Melman 27 April 2020 20 September 2021 A month later another of Sidr's cells would kill two soldiers outside the Abraham mosque. Two weeks later, a third cell would attack the military yeshiva near Hebron. Eventually, the Shin Bet caught up with "Muhannad". In 2003, he was cornered in a building in Hebron and killed in the shoot-out. A month later Majid Abu Dosh was killed in similar circumstances outside Hebron. According to Haaretz, Abu Dosh was the "operations officer" of Islamic Jihad in the Hebron area and the right-hand man of Sidr. Abu-Dosh is said to have planned the attack on Worshipers' Way in Hebron. https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-kills-hebron-area-jihad-leader-1.100351 https://web.archive.org/web/20121025192801/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-kills-hebron-area-jihad-leader-1.100351 dead 25 October 2012 IDF kills Hebron-area Jihad leader Haaretz Amos Harel and Arnon Regular 17 September 2003 20 October 2011 Israeli response Worshippers Way The Palestinian-administered part of Hebron was re-occupied by Israeli forces and a curfew was declared throughout the city. The curfew remained in force for more than six months. Four Palestinian houses were demolished by the IDF.UN Docs Chronological Review of Events November 2002 May 2014 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told IDF commanders in Hebron two days after the incident that a territorial continuity between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and the Jewish section of Hebron must be created and the safety of the Jews living in the divided city be ensured, reducing to a minimum the presence of Palestinians in the area in which the settlers live.PM calls for territorial continuity from Kiryat Arba to Hebron. Haaretz, 17 November 2002 The mayor of Kiryat Arba, Zvi Katsover, called on the government to "clean up the area" by destroying Palestinian buildings along a road connecting Kiryat Arba to Hebron. https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2002-11-17-9-sharon/392049.html Sharon: 'Now Is the Time to Expand Jewish Control Over Hebron' - 2002-11-17 Voice of America 17 November 2002 The Kiryat Arba Council and the council of settlers in Hebron's Jewish enclave requested building of 1,000 housing units between Kiryat Arba and the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Housing and Construction Minister Natan Sharansky supported the plan and ordered his ministry's workers to review the possibility of expropriating lands in the city and using them for Jewish residential purposes.Hebron settlers plan to build 1,000 units in new neighborhood. Amos Harel and Nadav Shragai, Haaretz, 19 November 2002 On 29 November 2002 the Israel Defense Forces issued the "Decree Number 61/02/T to Expropriate Property" with the purpose to expropriate an 8.2 dunam large area in Hebron and to create a 6 to 12 meter wide corridor linking the Jewish settlement in Hebron with Kiryat Arba. According to the American administration and Israeli sources close to the planning, the aim of the expropriation of the land and the building of the promenade was to create territorial contiguity between Kiryat Arba and Hebron.Pernicious promenade. Esther Zandberg, Haaretz, 12 December 2002 The military order was appealed to the High Court of Justice. The petition was rejected by the High Court after the IDF declared that they intended to demolish only two houses. https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/high-court-gives-idf-go-ahead-to-demolish-two-hebron-houses-1.115905 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924222236/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/high-court-gives-idf-go-ahead-to-demolish-two-hebron-houses-1.115905 dead 24 September 2015 High Court gives IDF go-ahead to demolish two Hebron houses In August 2004, three of the 22 buildings originally considered for demolition were destroyed. On 30 December a Palestinian teenager Imran Abu Hamadiya (17 years old) was apprehended by a Border Police patrol from his home near the Cave of the Patriarchs, where the policemen produced a knife and claimed it was his, as a pretext for placing him in the patrol car. He was found dead near the Hebron Industrial zone 20 minutes later. http://www.btselem.org/download/200308_hebron_area_h2_eng.doc Status Report Hebron, Area H-2, Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians B’Tselem Yael Stein August 2003 After an investigation four border policemen were arrested. The young man had been beaten and then thrown out of the patrol car at full speed, causing his head to fatally strike the road. Reactions Official Israeli spokesmen initially described the battle as a massacre of civilian Israeli settlers returning from Sabbath prayers. Gilad Millo, spokesman of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, originally called the attack as the "Sabbath massacre," and Israel's Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement, calling the event "The cold-blooded attack on civilians whose only 'sin' was to go to a holy place of worship on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath and on those people assigned to protect them". International media outlets initially reported that the Palestinian ambush had targeted both settlers and soldiers.https://www.chicagotribune.com/2002/11/16/12-israelis-die-in-hebron-attack/ 12 Israelis die in Hebron attack Chicago Tribune Christine Spolar 16 November 2002 The following day army officials said that only soldiers or security personnel were hurt in the ambush. Matan Vilnai – a former general and a leading Labour Party politician – said that "[i]t wasn't a massacre, it was a battle." https://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1118/p06s01-wome.html Israelis reinterpret a Hebron raid The Christian Science Monitor Nicole Gaouette 18 November 2002 On 15 November, the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned "the despicable terrorist attack... that today killed 10 Jewish worshippers on their way to the Sabbath eve prayers... [a] terrorist act against Israeli civilians".https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/sgsm8498.doc.htm SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS 'DESPICABLE' HEBRON TERRORIST ATTACK UN 15 November 2002 7 May 2013 but on 19 November, the Spokesman for Secretary-General said, "The information available to us when the statement was issued was that the victims were Israeli civilians returning from religious service...Subsequently, it now appears that the Israeli victims were in fact soldiers and security personnel" and urged "a broad approach to resolving the Middle East conflict".https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/66849A25EC96F01185256C7600688F06 Israeli victims in Hebron were military, UN spokesman says, urging broad solution UN 19 November 2002 7 May 2013 13 April 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140413145340/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/66849A25EC96F01185256C7600688F06 dead Aftermath The IDF's conduct during the Hebron ambush was heavily criticized. Many settlers blamed the death of the three Kiryat Arba security men on the "cowardice" of IDF soldiers.https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hebron-ambush-scene-dubbed-death-alley-1.28141 https://web.archive.org/web/20121105200941/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hebron-ambush-scene-dubbed-death-alley-1.28141 dead 5 November 2012 Hebron ambush scene dubbed 'Death Alley' H Amos Harel and Ido Shai 17 November 2002 17 September 2011 Three Israeli officers were dismissed from their posts in December 2002 for their personal failures in the Hebron ambush. The death of several high-ranking officers created a "command vacuum" that the remaining officers proved unable to fill, creating "a situation in which the decision-making fell into the hands of civilians (local settlers)" – the Response Team members. An IDF source told Haaretz that "When civilians command the army - this is not an acceptable situation as far as we are concerned."https://www.haaretz.com/news/3-idf-officers-to-be-dismissed-following-report-on-hebron-attack-1.25472 3 IDF officers to be dismissed following report on Hebron attack Amos Harel Haaretz 13 December 2002 17 September 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20121105194310/http://www.haaretz.com/news/3-idf-officers-to-be-dismissed-following-report-on-hebron-attack-1.25472 2012-11-05 The "Giborim outpost" (מאחז הגיבורים) was constructed on the site in which the battle took place, originally including a small number of temporary structures and tents. These residences housed a number of young people and families who then demanded to build a neighborhood on the site in memory of the fallen. 30 days after the incident the outpost was evacuated by the Israel military forces. Since then the area has been declared a 'closed military area' by the local IDF commander.Giborim Outpost Activists Arrested - Latest News Briefs - Israel National News The three Response Team members, who all worked full-time in the security service, were accorded military ceremony funerals "due to their involvement in Hevron security".http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/1578 Op-Ed: A Funeral of Heroes in Hevron Ariel Natan Pasko Arutz 7 18 November 2002 17 September 2011 A month after the incident, the three killed civilian security men were formally recognized by the Ministry of Defense as "fallen soldiers." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/35541#.UEWNVHI1OSo Military Tombstones for Fallen Civilians Fighters Arutz 7 15 December 2002 7 May 2013 The Israeli Chief of Staff posthumously granted the Chief of Staff Medal of Appreciation to Yitzhak Buanish, Alexander Zwitman and Alexander Dohan - the Kiryat Arba Emergency Response Team, as well as to Elijah Liebman, the chief of security of the Jewish community in Hebron. http://www.inn.co.il/News/Flash.aspx/109020 אות הערכה הוענק גם לכיתת הכוננות של קרית ארבע (Medal of appreciation awarded to the emergency team of Kiryat Arba) Arutz 7 12 April 2005 10 November 2011 After his death, Sgt. Gad Rahamim was granted the Medal of Courage for his part in the battle. On 12 December, two Palestinian fighters from Islamic Jihad walked up to two Israeli Military Policemen, from the Sahlav unit, doing guard duty outside the Cave of the Patriarchs and shot them point-blank. The two soldiers were identified as Cpl. Keren Ya'akobi, and Sgt. Maor Kalfon. The former was the first female operational fatality of the IDF in the Second Intifada. http://www.haaretz.com/news/2-soldiers-killed-in-shooting-attack-in-west-bank-city-of-hebron-1.25545 https://web.archive.org/web/20140413133927/http://www.haaretz.com/news/2-soldiers-killed-in-shooting-attack-in-west-bank-city-of-hebron-1.25545 dead 13 April 2014 2 soldiers killed in shooting attack in West Bank city of Hebron Amos Harel 13 December 2002 7 May 2013 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/35414#.UEYHMZYldjc Two Murdered in Hevron Terror Attack Arutz 7 2002-12-12 7 May 2013 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2002/1212/breaking90.html Israeli Killed in Palestinian Ambush in Hebron The Irish Times Reuters 2002-12-12 10 November 2012 subscription On 27 December four yeshiva students, two of them IDF soldiers, were killed in the Yeshivat Otniel shooting attack in the settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron. The attack was carried out by the same unit of the Islamic Jihad that carried out the Hebron ambush. http://www.haaretz.com/news/two-of-the-four-victims-of-otniel-attack-were-soldiers-1.24065 https://web.archive.org/web/20140101033801/http://www.haaretz.com/news/two-of-the-four-victims-of-otniel-attack-were-soldiers-1.24065 dead 1 January 2014 Two of the four victims of Otniel attack were soldiers Haaretz Amos Harel 1 September 2012 See also 2024 Tarqumiyah shooting References 30em External links 12 Israelis Killed in Sabbath Eve attack in Hebron - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Category:Hebron in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Category:Palestinian Islamic Jihad attacks Category:Israel Border Police Category:Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada Category:November 2002 in Asia Category:2002 in the West Bank Category:Ambushes of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Category:2002 conflicts Category:21st century in Hebron