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1994 London Israeli embassy bombing

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1994 London Israeli Embassy bombing
Israeli embassy in London

The attack site
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′10.44″N0°11′20.76″W/ 51.5029000°N 0.1891000°W/51.5029000; -0.1891000
Date26 July 1994
TargetIsraeli embassy
Balfour House
Attack type
Car bomb
Deaths0
Injured20
MotivePalestinian nationalism
ConvictedJawad Botmeh, Samar Alami

The1994 London Israeli Embassy bombingwas acar bombattack on 26 July 1994 against theIsraeli embassybuilding inLondon,England.Twentycivilianswere injured. A second bomb wasexplodedoutside Balfour House,Finchley,premises occupied by theUJIA,a registered British charity.

The attack

A car containing 20 to 30 pounds (9.1 to 13.6 kg) ofexplosivesparked in front of theembassyblew up minutes after the driver left it. The blast, which caused widespread damage, was heard over a mile away. Apart from damage to the embassy building, shop windows were blown out. The attack took place one day afterKing HusseinofJordanandIsraeli Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabinmet inWashington, D.C.to discuss aJordan-Israelpeace treaty.[1]

Thirteen hours later another car bomb exploded outsideBalfour House,which at the time was the Londonheadquartersof one of the largest Jewish charities, The United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA), injuring six.[2][3]

Aftermath

Initially, the IsraeliambassadorandBritish intelligenceexperts were blaming "pro-Iranianextremists, probably linked to theLebanon-basedHezbollahgroup. "[1]Between the two attacks, letters were sent to two Arab newspapers claiming responsibility for both bombs on behalf of the "Palestinian Resistance Jaffa Group".[2]

FivePalestinianswere arrested in London in January 1995 in connection with the bombings. In December 1996, two of them, both Palestinian science graduates educated in the UK, Jawad Botmeh and Samar Alami, were found guilty of "conspiracy to cause explosions" at theOld Bailey.They were sentenced to 20 years in jail, and lost their appeal in 2001.[4]

Botmeh was released from prison in 2008.[5]

FormerMI5agentDavid Shaylerstated that the British security services were warned of a plan to attack the embassy in advance, yet took no action. TheCrown Prosecution Servicelater confirmed a warning had been received, though it related to a plan by a group unconnected to those who were convicted of the bombing.[6]TheHome Secretaryat the time,Jack Straw,said that Shayler's interpretation of events was understandable, but concluded that MI5 still could not have prevented the bombing.[7]

Convicted

Samar Alami, aLebanese-Palestinian woman and daughter of a banker, graduated with aBScinchemical engineeringfromUniversity College Londonand an MSc fromImperial College London.[8][9]

Jawad Botmeh, a Palestinian student based in London, graduated with degrees inelectronic engineeringfrom theUniversity of LeicesterandKing's College London.[10][11][12]

Alami and Botmeh were convicted ofconspiracyto cause explosions in theUnited Kingdom.[13]During the trial Alami and Botmeh were accused of being part of a team that had planned the bombing but were not accused of planting the bomb themselves or being present at the scene of the crime.[14]There was no direct evidence linking the suspects to the bombing. Another woman involved in carrying out the bombing has never been found. In the course of the trial, both suspects did admit that they had conducted experiments using home madeexplosivesin order to pass information back to Palestinians in theoccupied Palestinian territories.Botmeh and Alami were convicted of the charges in December 1996, receiving 20-year sentences.[15]

Alami and Botmeh have maintained their innocence;Amnesty Internationalstated that Botmeh had been "denied [his] right to a fair trial".[16]Numerous groups and individuals campaigned on behalf of the pair, including thegovernment of Palestine,Amnesty International,Unison(Britain's largest trade union),[17]human rights activistGareth Peirce,investigative journalistPaul Foot,and Miscarriages of JusticeUK (MOJUK),[18]Support for Alami and Botmeh's appeal attracted cross-party support inParliament– fiveearly day motionsraised byJohn AustinMPwere supported by a total of 71 Members of Parliament, includingLabour PartyMPsJeremy CorbynandJohn McDonnell,Conservative PartyMPsPeter BottomleyandRobert Jackson,andLiberal DemocratsTom BrakeandColin Breed.Beyond the early day motions, further support for a review of the conviction by parliamentarians includedIan Gilmour, Baron Gilmour of CraigmillarandHarry Cohen.[19][20]

The pair's appeal against their convictions came to an end when their case was dismissed by theEuropean Court of Human Rightsin 2007. Upon review of the evidence, the court concluded that their right to a fair trial had not been infringed.[21]

Following Botmeh's release from prison in 2008 he found work as aresearcherat theLondon Metropolitan University.[22]He was suspended from work on 7 February 2013, having become anactivistfor histrade union,Unison;they have pointed out that his suspension was related to his election as a staff representative,[16]and that he had declared his conviction for involvement in two car bombs at the Israeli Embassy prior to appointment.[22]His suspension was lifted in March 2015.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ab"Israel's London embassy bombed".BBC. 26 July 1994. Archived fromthe originalon 9 September 2017.
  2. ^abYonah Alexander, Edgar H. Brenner (2013).Document No 24,inUK's Legal Responses to Terrorism,Routledge, p. 693
  3. ^"Bombing in London Hits Israeli Embassy".The New York Times.27 July 1994.
  4. ^"Tally Ho Bombers Lose Court Appeal".The Guardian.1 November 2001.
  5. ^"London Metropolitan University suspends researcher with car bomb conviction".BBC. 22 February 2013.
  6. ^Taylor, Mike (27 October 2000).Shayler was right over bomb at Israeli embassy.The Independent.Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  7. ^Norton-Taylor, Richard (4 November 2002).Behind the MI5 trial.The Guardian.Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  8. ^"The bomber who never was".The Independent.26 November 1998.Archivedfrom the original on 1 May 2022.Retrieved20 May2016.
  9. ^"UK | Israel embassy bombers to appeal".BBC News. 10 May 1999.Retrieved18 March2010.
  10. ^Gambetta, Diego; Hertog, Steffen (1 March 2016).Engineers of Jihad: The Curious Connection between Violent Extremism and Education.Princeton University Press. p. 23.ISBN978-1-4008-8025-6.
  11. ^"Bombing in London Hits Israeli Embassy - NYTimes".The New York Times.27 July 1994.Retrieved14 September2015.
  12. ^"BBC ON THIS DAY | 26 | 1994: Israel's London embassy bombed".news.bbc.co.uk. 26 July 1994.Retrieved14 September2015.
  13. ^Beckett, Andy (21 October 2000)."Caught in the blast".The Guardian.London.Retrieved14 October2010.
  14. ^Caught in the blast.The Guardian(21 October 2000). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  15. ^Campbell, Duncan; Norton-Taylor, Richard (27 March 1999)."M15 role in inquiry into Israeli embassy blast under scrutiny".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved11 August2018.
  16. ^ab"Botmeh suspension lifted by London Met | Times Higher Education".timeshighereducation.co.uk. 13 March 2013.Retrieved14 September2015.
  17. ^Freedom and Justice for Samar and Jawad.Unison (24 February 2003). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  18. ^MOJUK: Newsletter 'Inside Out' No 36.MOJUK. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  19. ^The latest attack on Jeremy Corbyn is only half the story.Middle East Monitor (1 September 2015). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  20. ^Swinford, Steven (1 September 2015).Jeremy Corbyn campaigned for release of Embassy bombers.Daily Telegraph.Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  21. ^Palestinian bombers appeal fails.BBC News (7 June 2007). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  22. ^ab"London Metropolitan University suspends researcher with car bomb conviction - BBC News".BBC News.22 February 2013.Retrieved14 September2015.
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