1994 London Israeli embassy bombing

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1994 London Israeli Embassy bombing
Israeli embassy London.JPG
Israeli embassy in London
Greater London UK location map 2.svg
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The attack site
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′10.44″N0°11′20.76″W / 51.5029000°N 0.1891000°W / 51.5029000; -0.1891000
Date26 July 1994
Target Israeli embassy
Balfour House
Attack type
 Car bomb
Deaths0
Injured20
Motive Palestinian nationalism
ConvictedJawad Botmeh, Samar Alami

The 1994 London Israeli Embassy bombing was a car bomb attack on the Israeli embassy in Kensington, London, on 26 July 1994. The explosion injured twenty civilians and caused extensive damage to nearby buildings. A second bomb exploded several hours later outside Balfour House in Finchley, which housed the London offices of the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA), injuring six people.

Contents

Two Palestinian engineers, Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh, were later convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions in connection with the attacks.

Background and attacks

On the morning of 26 July 1994, a car containing an estimated 20 to 30 pounds (9.1 to 13.6 kg) of explosives detonated outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington Palace Gardens, moments after the driver left the vehicle. The blast was heard over a mile away and shattered windows in nearby shops and residences. The attack occurred one day after a meeting in Washington, D.C., between King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to discuss a peace treaty between their countries. [1]

About thirteen hours later, a second car bomb exploded outside Balfour House in Finchley, the headquarters of the United Jewish Israel Appeal, a British Jewish charity. [2] [3] Six people were injured in that blast.

Investigation

Initial suspicion focused on "pro-Iranian extremists, probably linked to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group," according to statements from the Israeli ambassador and British intelligence analysts. [1] Shortly after the first explosion, a group calling itself the Palestinian Resistance Jaffa Group claimed responsibility in letters sent to two Arab newspapers. [2]

In January 1995, five Palestinians were arrested in London in connection with the attacks, leading to charges against two of them the following year.

Convictions and appeals

In December 1996, two of the individuals arrested the previous year, Samar Alami—a Lebanese-Palestinian chemical engineer educated at University College London and Imperial College London [4] [5] —and Jawad Botmeh—a Palestinian electronics engineer educated at the University of Leicester and King's College London [6] —were convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to cause explosions related to the 1994 bombings. [7] The prosecution did not allege that they planted the bombs but argued that they were part of a group involved in planning or supporting the attacks. [8] Both admitted experimenting with homemade explosives, which they said were intended for demonstration purposes to be shared with Palestinians in the occupied territories. [9] They were each sentenced to twenty years in prison and lost an appeal in 2001. [10]

Amnesty International stated that Botmeh had been "denied his right to a fair trial." [11] Campaigns supporting the pair were backed by the government of Palestine, the trade union Unison, lawyer Gareth Peirce, journalist Paul Foot, and the group Miscarriages of Justice UK (MOJUK). [12] [13] Five early day motions in the British Parliament gained support from 71 MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Peter Bottomley, and Tom Brake. [14] [15]

In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights dismissed their appeal, ruling that their trial had not violated the right to a fair hearing. [16]

Allegations and controversy

In 1998, former MI5 officer David Shayler alleged that British security services had received an advance warning of a plan to attack the embassy but took no preventive action. The Crown Prosecution Service later confirmed a warning had been received, though it related to a different group than the one whose members were convicted. [17] Then–Home Secretary Jack Straw stated that MI5 could not have prevented the attack based on the available intelligence. [18]

Another former MI5 officer, Annie Machon, later claimed that an internal MI5 assessment had raised the possibility of Israeli involvement in the attack, but no evidence supporting this claim has been publicly released. [19] [20] No official investigation has substantiated the allegation.

Later developments

Botmeh was released from prison in 2008. [21] He later worked as a researcher at London Metropolitan University, [22] where he was briefly suspended in 2013 after being elected as a staff representative. Unison stated that the suspension was connected to his trade union activities. [11] [22] The decision was reversed the following month and he was reinstated. [23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Israel's London embassy bombed". BBC. 26 July 1994. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 Yonah Alexander, Edgar H. Brenner (2013). Document No 24, in UK's Legal Responses to Terrorism, Routledge, p. 693
  3. ↑ "Bombing in London Hits Israeli Embassy". The New York Times. 27 July 1994.
  4. ↑ "The bomber who never was" . The Independent . 26 November 1998. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "UK". BBC News. 10 May 1999. Retrieved 18 March 2010.{{cite news}}: Text "Israel embassy bombers to appeal" ignored (help)
  6. ↑ Gambetta, Diego; Hertog, Steffen (1 March 2016). Engineers of Jihad: The Curious Connection between Violent Extremism and Education. Princeton University Press. p. 23. ISBN   978-1-4008-8025-6.
  7. ↑ Beckett, Andy (21 October 2000). "Caught in the blast". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  8. ↑ Caught in the blast . The Guardian (21 October 2000). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  9. ↑ Campbell, Duncan; Norton-Taylor, Richard (27 March 1999). "M15 role in inquiry into Israeli embassy blast under scrutiny". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Tally Ho Bombers Lose Court Appeal". The Guardian. 1 November 2001.
  11. 1 2 "Botmeh suspension lifted by London Met". timeshighereducation.co.uk. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2015.{{cite web}}: Text "Times Higher Education" ignored (help)
  12. ↑ Freedom and Justice for Samar and Jawad. Unison (24 February 2003). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  13. ↑ MOJUK: Newsletter 'Inside Out' No 36. MOJUK. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  14. ↑ The latest attack on Jeremy Corbyn is only half the story. Middle East Monitor (1 September 2015). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  15. ↑ Swinford, Steven (1 September 2015). Jeremy Corbyn campaigned for release of Embassy bombers. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  16. ↑ Palestinian bombers appeal fails . BBC News (7 June 2007). Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  17. ↑ Taylor, Mike (27 October 2000). Shayler was right over bomb at Israeli embassy. The Independent. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  18. ↑ Norton-Taylor, Richard (4 November 2002). Behind the MI5 trial. The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  19. ↑ "Operation Susannah 2.0? Tehran warns UK of Mossad-style plots to derail ties". Tehran Times. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  20. ↑ Jay, Paul (31 October 2012). "From MI6 Al Qaeda Plot to Kill Gaddafi to Spying on Domestic Dissent: An MI5 Whistle Blowers Story". Truthout. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  21. ↑ "London Metropolitan University suspends researcher with car bomb conviction". BBC. 22 February 2013.
  22. 1 2 "London Metropolitan University suspends researcher with car bomb conviction - BBC News". BBC News. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  23. ↑ Morgan, John (13 March 2013). "Botmeh suspension lifted by London Met". Times Higher Education (THE).
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