HaSharon Mall suicide bombing (July 12, 2005)

The second HaSharon Mall entrance suicide bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on July 12, 2005 in the HaSharon Mall in Netanya. 5 people were killed in the attack.

The Palestinian Islamist militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack
During the evening of July 12, 2005 a Palestinian suicide bomber approached the popular HaSharon Mall mall in the center of the coastal city Netanya. The suicide bomber who was wearing hidden explosives underneath his clothes, detonated himself at about 6:35 pm on a pedestrian crossing, after approaching a group of four young women, who were crossing the road.

Three women were killed in the attack. An IDF corporal and another woman died of their injuries following the attack. In addition, about 90 people were injured in the attack, five of them seriously. The explosion which occurred in a busy intersection outside of the mall during the evening rush hour also caused damaged to many of the nearby automobiles, and in addition, some of the shopping center's windows were shattered.

After the attack the local police stated that the suicide bomber carried around 10 kg of explosives, as well as nails and metal pellets, on an explosive belt that was strapped to his body. Netanya's mayor, Miriam Fierberg, was present on the scene of the attack and immediately began assisting the injured.

The perpetrators
The Palestinian Islamist militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that the attack was carried out by 18-year-old Palestinian student Ahmad Abu-Halil from the West Bank village of Atil.

Aftermath
On the day of the bombing, Israeli defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, canceled a meeting with the Palestinian minister for civil affairs, Mohammed Dahlan, set for that evening to coordinate various issues regarding Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Official reactions

 * Involved parties


 * The Israeli government alleged that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not doing enough to stop terrorism. David Baker, an official in the office of Prime minister Ariel Sharon, stated that "Israel has done all it could to ease up Palestinian needs but the PA has not fulfilled obligations undertaken at Sharm el-Sheikh and shows no signs of doing so".


 * The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack. PA official Jibril Rajoub called it "hurtful to our cause" and chief negotiator Saeb Erakat stated that that "those who carried out this attack want to sabotage the efforts being exerted to have a smooth and peaceful disengagement from Gaza and a revival of the peace process".
 * The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack. PA official Jibril Rajoub called it "hurtful to our cause" and chief negotiator Saeb Erakat stated that that "those who carried out this attack want to sabotage the efforts being exerted to have a smooth and peaceful disengagement from Gaza and a revival of the peace process".

The Vatican was criticised by many Jewish and Zionist organizations for not expressing concern over the loss of Israeli lives. The Holy See spokesperson responded as follows: Not every attack against Israel could be followed by an immediate public condemnation. There are various reasons for this, among them the fact that attacks against Israel were sometimes followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the norms of international law. It would, consequently, have been impossible to condemn the former and remain silent on the latter.

This statement, which equated terrorist attacks with Israeli military operations, caused some tension between the Vatican and the Israeli government.