1997 - Fifteen people were killed in a crowded Jewish market in occupied Jerusalem in twin suicide bombings by militants that threatened to derail efforts to relaunch the Middle East peace process. The blasts, the deadliest in Israel since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won the election in 1996 on a pledge to bolster security, ripped through the Mahane Yehuda market in the heart of the city as lunchtime shoppers flocked to the stalls. The Hamas movement claimed the latest killings in a leaflet that demanded that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners held in its jails. Israeli police said the bombers, who were among the dead, strolled into the market dressed in jackets and ties with 10-kilo bombs hidden in attache cases.
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HIGHLIGHT
1997
Twin suicide bombing kills 15
Fifteen people were killed in a crowded Jewish market in Jerusalem in a twin suicide bombing by militants that threatened to derail efforts to relaunch the Middle East peace process. The blasts, the deadliest in Israel since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won election in 1996 on a pledge to bolster security, ripped through the Mahane Yehuda market in the heart of the city as lunchtime shoppers flocked to stalls. The Hamas movement, responsible for several similar attacks in the past, claimed the latest killings in a leaflet which demanded that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners held in its jails. Israeli police said the bombers, who were among the dead, strolled into the market dressed in jackets and ties with 10-kilo bombs hidden in attache cases. Police put the number of wounded at some 170. The killings came on the eve of a planned visit to the region by US envoy Dennis Ross with proposals for ending four months of deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
