2003 French Hill suicide bombings

The 2003 French hill suicide bombings was a twin suicide bombing of an Egged bus in the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem, on 18 May 2003. Seven passengers were killed in the attack and 20 injured. A few minutes after the first attack, another suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the village of Dahiya el-Barid, near Jerusalem. Only the bomber was killed in what appeared to be a premature detonation.

The attacks
The first attack took place at 5:45 am, during the morning rush hour, when a Palestinian suicide bomber disguised as a Haredi detonated a nail-studded explosive belt strapped to his body on a No. 6 passenger bus near the French Hill section of northern Jerusalem. Seven civilians were killed in the attack, including four Russian immigrants and an Arab resident of Jerusalem. In addition, 20 were injured in the attack, four of them seriously.

A few minutes after the first attack, another suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the village of Dahiya el-Barid, near Jerusalem. Only the bomber was killed in what appeared to be a premature detonation.

The perpetrator
Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, nevertheless relatives of the 19-year-old Hamas activist Bassem Jamil Tarkrouri, who originated from Hebron, officially identified him as the perpetrator of the attack.

Official reactions

 * Involved parties
 * Israeli officials spoke about the bombings stating "will continue to fight terror everywhere, at any time and in any way possible".

Palestinian territories:
 * Palestinian National Authority – PNA officials condemned the bombings.


 * International
 * – Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke about the bombings stating "we in the strongest possible terms the horrific terrorist bombing"
 * – Russian officials condemned the attack and called on the international community to "intensify efforts to combat terrorism and activate peace efforts for the Mideast".