On August 19, 2003, a Hamas suicide bomber boarded a crowded Jerusalem bus returning from the Western Wall and detonated himself. It was the 100th Palestinian suicide bombing in three years.
The bus was filled with families. The explosion killed 16 adults, seven children, and a woman who was eight months pregnant. More than 130 others were injured. Because so many children were murdered, the media later referred to it as “the children’s bus.”
The terrorist had disguised himself as an Orthodox Jew to board the bus undetected. According to the script, the bomb had been packed to maximize casualties. Later that night, Palestinians in Hebron celebrated the attack with fireworks.
This is what the Second Intifada looked like. Not an abstract slogan. Not a call for freedom. Buses, restaurants, shootings, stabbings, and civilians deliberately targeted for murder.
More than 1,000 Israelis were killed during the Second Intifada. The next time someone says “intifada” is just a chant, remember the children’s bus.
That is what intifada really means.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
