Dolphinarium discotheque massacre

Coordinates: 32°04′02″N 34°45′42″E / 32.06722°N 34.76167°E / 32.06722; 34.76167
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Dolphinarium suicide bombing
A memorial with the names of the dead at the site of the bombing on the Tel Aviv seafront.
LocationTel Aviv, Israel
DateJune 1, 2001
23:30- am – (UTC+2)
TargetDolphinarium nightclubs
Attack type
Suicide attack
Deaths21
Injured100+
PerpetratorsHamas, Saeed Hotari

The Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing refers to the suicide bombing carried out by a Palestinian militant, killing twenty-one civilians, mostly teenage Israeli Jews,[1] and injuring 132 more,[2] on June 1, 2001 at the entrance to the Dolphinarium discotheque in Tel Aviv, Israel. Both Islamic Jihad and a group calling itself Hizbullah-Palestine originally claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, only to later retract the claims.[3]

Israeli officials called the attack a "massacre"[4], and many Israelis called for a massive retaliation. The government did not, however, take any immediate retaliatory action. US and other governments applied heavy diplomatic pressure on Israel to refrain from action[5]. Yasir Arafat, then head of the Palestinian authority, condemned the attack and called for a cease-fire[6]; however, the Second Intifada continued unabated for another four years. The attack was one of the reasons cited by the Israeli government for building the Israeli West Bank barrier[7].

Suicide bomber Saeed Hotari exploded himself at the entrance to the nightclub at about 23:30 on a Saturday night, when the area was packed with youngsters waiting for admission. It was the second attack in five months on the same target[8]. "I heard a huge blast and I saw a blaze of fire erupting to the sky," said eyewitness Tomer Revah[citation needed]. "It was a heinous picture, people lied on the floor and body parts were thrown everywhere."

Killed

21 Israeli civilians, mostly teenagers with backgrounds from the former Soviet Union, died in the attack:

  • Maria Tagiltseva, 14
  • Yevgeniya Dorfman, 15
  • Raisa Nemirovskaya, 15
  • Yulia Sklyanik, 15
  • Ana Kazachkova, 15
  • Katherine Kastinyada, 15
  • Irina Nepomnyashaya, 16
  • Mariana Medvedenko, 16
  • Yulia Nalimova, 16
  • Liana Saakyan, 16
  • Marina Berkovskaya, 17
  • Simona Rudina, 17
  • Alexei Lupalo, 17
  • Yelena Nalimova, 18
  • Irina Osadchaya, 18
  • Ilya Gutman, 19
  • Sergei Panchenko, 20
  • Roman Dzhanashvili, 21
  • Diaz Nurmanov, 21
  • Jan Bloom, 25
  • Uri Shachar, 32

Eyewitness accounts

  • Tomer Revah (age 22): "We came to the "Pacha" with a friend to hang out. Fortunately, we arrived late and when we reached the club's doors we heard a blast and saw body parts. After the blast, we approached the place in order to assist".
  • Ariel Levi: "I was on my way to a friend on a motorcycle when I heard the blast. I went off the motorcycle immediately and ran to the place. The rescue forces that came to the place were miserable because there was no one to save. Bodies were laid one above another on the sidewalk. I found on the floor a 16 or 17 year-old child the age of my daughter. I found her by accident. Her pupils were dilating and she was covered in blood. I felt a pulse but she wasn't breathing. I immediately tried to resuscitate her from what I learnt in a resuscitation course. I yelled to the medics to come because they gave up because of the sheer number of bodies. I succeeded and an ambulance evacuated her to the hospital while she's breathing with a pulse. I hope she will be all right, I need to visit her and hope she recovers".
  • Roni Soklicki, responsible for parties in the "Pacha" club, the club adjacent to the bombing site: "Around 23:30, the time when the clubs open for parties, I went out to check last time before the party started. There were dozens of people there waiting for the Russian orientated party. Suddenly I heard a huge blast and I saw a blaze of fire erupting to the sky. It was a heinous picture, people lied on the floor and body parts were thrown everywhere".

Saeed Hotari

The bomber, Saeed Hotari (1980 - 2001) was praised as a martyr by his father. Hotari detonated his explosives while in a line-up for the discotheque. It is not known how Hotari entered Tel Aviv, but there is widespread belief that he took a taxi from the central bus station to the nightclub.

Reaction

In Ramallah dozens of Palestinians celebrated in the streets and fired in the air as a sign of happiness. President George W. Bush demanded that Arafat condemn the terrorist act.[9]

While Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later did condemn the act, documents seized by the IDF during Operation Defensive Shield revealed that the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs granted a sum of $2,000 to the father of the bomber about two weeks later.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ynet - פיגוע בדולפינריום - חדשות
  2. ^ 'Driver of the Dolphinarium attack terrorist - charged with homicide' by Vered Lovitz, Yedioth Ahronoth, July 10, 2001
  3. ^ Bomb horror hits Tel Aviv disco, The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2001.
  4. ^ Shalom, Silvan. "Q&A with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom." Haaretz. May 8, 2008
  5. ^ Deborah Sontag, "Arafat Calls for Cease-Fire, Deploring Tel Aviv Attack", New York Times, June 3, 2001.
  6. ^ Sontag, op cit
  7. ^ Israel Foreign Ministry, "Four Years of Conflict: Israel's war against terrorism", October 3, 2004, p. 28, available online here.
  8. ^ "Bloody Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv - 18 Youth Killed". Ynet. 2001-06-02. Retrieved 2008-05-04. Template:He icon
  9. ^ "Bush to Arafat: You Must Condemn This Terrible Attack". Ynet. 2001-06-02. Retrieved 2008-05-04. Template:He icon
  10. ^ "The Palestinian Authority's support of Hamas' suicide terrorism". 2004. Retrieved 2008-05-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links


32°04′02″N 34°45′42″E / 32.06722°N 34.76167°E / 32.06722; 34.76167

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