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A bomb hidden in a bag exploded near a bus stop in downtown Jerusalem on 23 March 2011 as an Egged bus passed, killing two people and injuring 39; four Hamas militants were later tried in an Israeli military court for the attack.
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Suggest coverage for 2011 Jerusalem bus stop bombingOn 23 March 2011, at approximately 15:00, an explosive device concealed in a bag detonated near a bus stop in downtown Jerusalem, close to the Jerusalem International Convention Center, as Egged bus No. 74 passed the site. The device contained an estimated one to two kilograms of explosives packed with shrapnel. A nearby kiosk owner, David Amoyal, had noticed the suspicious bag and warned bystanders to evacuate moments before the blast, while attempting to alert police.
The explosion killed Mary Jean Gardner, a 56-to-59-year-old Scottish national and Christian Bible translator who had spent 20 years translating the Bible into the Ifè language in Togo. At the time of the attack she was studying Hebrew at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Rothberg International School. She absorbed much of the blast's shrapnel and died of her wounds at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital; a colleague from the Home for Bible Translators stated he believed her position shielded and saved the lives of three children nearby. Hodaya Asulin, who was 14 years old at the time of the bombing, was also injured and died six years later, on 22 November 2017. The blast injured a total of 39 people. ZAKA volunteers were among the first responders on scene, providing initial medical treatment.
Israeli Police described the bombing as a terrorist attack. No group immediately claimed responsibility, and the identity of the perpetrators was not immediately known. The Palestinian Authority brought in two Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders in Jenin, Khalid Jaradat and Tariq Qa'dan, for questioning, related to Israeli claims that the organization's Al-Quds Brigades were responsible. In September 2011, Israel arrested four Hamas militants, one of whom was described as an Israeli permanent resident from Jerusalem; three were accused of recruiting the fourth, and the cell was also accused of planning a separate suicide attack. The four were tried in an Israeli military court.
The attack drew condemnation from Israeli, Palestinian Authority, French, British, and American officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who delayed a planned trip to Moscow), Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, and US President Barack Obama. Amnesty International also condemned the bombing while urging the Israel Defense Forces to halt mortar fire on residential areas of Gaza. In contrast, spokespeople for Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas praised the attack. The bombing occurred two weeks after a pipe bomb had injured a sanitation worker in southern Jerusalem, and followed a roughly seven-year period without suicide bombings in the city.
A pipe bomb exploded in a garbage bag on a traffic island in southern Jerusalem, injuring a municipal sanitation worker.
An explosive device detonated near a bus stop in downtown Jerusalem as Egged bus No. 74 passed, killing Mary Jean Gardner and injuring 39 people, including Hodaya Asulin.
Israel arrested four Hamas militants in connection with the bombing; they were tried in an Israeli military court.
Hodaya Asulin, injured in the 2011 bombing at age 14, died.
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