Liberty Bell Park bus bombing

On the morning of Sunday, February 22, 2004, during rush hour, a Palestinian suicide bomber boarded Egged bus No. 14A as it traveled toward downtown Jerusalem. The bomber carried an explosive device concealed in a backpack that had been packed with metal scraps to increase casualties. Police believed he boarded the bus in the Talpiot industrial zone and waited for it to fill with passengers before detonating the device.

At approximately 8:30 a.m., as the bus passed Liberty Bell Park on the edge of Emek Refaim, the main street of Jerusalem's German Colony neighborhood, the bomber detonated the explosive. Eight people were killed in the attack, and more than 60 were injured, including 11 schoolchildren who were on their way to school at the time.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the bombing. The group identified the attacker as a 23-year-old man named Mohammed Zaul, from the village of Husan in the West Bank. Following the attack, a video was released in which Zaul stated he carried out the bombing in revenge "for the massacre perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians."

The attack prompted official condemnations from both Israeli and Palestinian officials. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom condemned the bombing and cited it as evidence that construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier was justified and necessary to prevent similar attacks. Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia also condemned the attack, stating that it provided Israel with a pretext to continue building the barrier.