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Tel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405 attack

The Tel Aviv-Jerusalem bus 405 attack occurred on July 6, 1989. Abd al-Hadi Ghanayem, a Palestinian traveling in a crowded bus en route from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem seized the steering wheel from the driver and crashed the bus over a steep precipice in the area of Qiryat Ye'arim.

Fourteen civilians died in the crash and thirty more were wounded. This is regarded as essentially the first Palestinian suicide attack even though the perpetrator (Anas), belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, didn't wear the more common suicide belt, and was not killed in the crash, later being arrested following medical treatment for his injuries. He was convicted on murder, hijacking and terrorism charges.

In Fiction

• In the NBC drama Heroes the character Hana Gitelman, along with her grandmother and mother, were on board when the attack happened. Of the three, Hana was the sole survivor.

See also

• Coastal Road massacre
• List of Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide attacks

External links

• An eyewitness account of the driver who survived the attack (Hebrew)
• MEMRI account of Palestinian media gloryifying the terrorist