1997 Bombing
| 1997 Ben Yehuda Street Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Location | Ben Yehuda Street, Jerusalem |
| Date | September 4, 1997 |
| Target | Pedestrian shopping mall |
| Attack type | suicide bombers |
| Deaths | 5 (+ 3 suicide bombers) |
| Perpetrators | Hamas |
On September 4, 1997, three Hamas suicide bombers simultaneously blew themselves up on the pedestrian mall, killing 5 Israelis. The bombing was carried out by Palestinians from the village of Asira al-shamaliye.
Three 14-year old girls were killed in the attack: Sivann Zarka, Yael Botvin and Smadar Elhanan. Elhanan was the daughter of peace activist Nurit Peled-Elhanan and the granddaughter of Israeli general and politician Mattityahu Peled.
The family of Yael Botvin, a U.S. citizen, filed a lawsuit in the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
A default judgment of $251 million in compensatory and punitive damages was awarded to the relatives of Americans killed in the attack. There were few assets of the Iranian government in the United States following the judgment. The plaintiffs threatened to seize valuable Persian artifacts located in Chicago museums and sell them for proceeds, leading to the Chicago's Persian heritage crisis, as well as suing the account of the Bank Melli Iran in the Bank of New York, but having the United States Department of Justice speak as amicus curiae in support of Bank Melli, advising that the bank had no responsibility for turning the funds over, resulted in a ruling against the students.
Read more about this topic: Ben Yehuda Street Bombings
Famous quotes containing the word bombing:
“There is a “sanctity” involved with bringing a child into this world: it is better than bombing one out of it.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)