King George Street bombing

A suicide bombing occurred on March 21, 2002, outside a clothing store and toy shop on King George Street in Jerusalem. Three Israeli civilians were killed in the attack and 86 people were injured (several seriously).

The attack
On Thursday afternoon, 21 March 2002, a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated the explosive device, hidden underneath his jacket, in the middle of Jerusalem's shopping district in the King George Street in downtown Jerusalem amongst a crowd of shoppers.

The blast killed three civilians and more than 40 people were wounded, seven of them seriously.

The perpetrators
After the attack the Palestinian militia al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the bombing and stated that the perpetrator was Mohammad Hashaika, a 22-year-old from the West Bank village of Talluza near Nablus. Hashaika was a member of the Tanzim and a former Palestinian policeman. Later on, it was revealed that Hashaika was actually arrested for allegedly planning to carry out an earlier attack. Nevertheless, the Palestinian authority released him a week before he managed to carry out this suicide bombing.