1997 Mahane Yehuda Market bombings

On Wednesday, 30 July 1997, at approximately 1:15 pm, two Palestinian suicide bombers carried out a coordinated attack at the Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem's main open-air fruit and vegetable market. The two attackers, acting on behalf of Hamas, carried bags containing explosives packed with nails and detonated them nearly simultaneously in a central alley of the crowded market, roughly 45 meters (150 feet) apart.

The bombings killed 16 people, including an Arab resident of Eilabun, and injured 178 others. Many of those hurt were teenagers and tourists visiting the popular market. Thirteen Israelis were killed immediately in the blasts, while three more victims later died of their injuries.

The attack occurred amid a period of heightened violence in Jerusalem. It was followed roughly five weeks later, on 4 September 1997, by a separate triple suicide bombing on the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall in downtown Jerusalem, which killed five Israelis and wounded more than 190 people.

In the aftermath of the Mahane Yehuda bombing and other related attacks, Israeli authorities made a decision to target senior Hamas leadership. According to an Israeli press release, Mossad agents attempted to poison Hamas chairman Khaled Mashal, who was residing in Jordan at the time. The assassination attempt failed, and the Mossad operatives involved were captured by Jordanian authorities. They were subsequently released as part of an exchange that secured the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, who had been serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison.

The bombings remain attributed to Hamas as an organization. No individual perpetrators are named, charged, or convicted in connection with the attack.