{{Short description|26 July 1994 car bombing of Israeli embassy building}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{EngvarB|date=May 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox terrorist attack |title = 1994 London Israeli Embassy bombing |location = London, United Kingdom |date = 26 July 1994 |map=<div style="width:250px; float:none; clear:none;"><div style="position:relative; padding:0; width:250px;">250px <br /><div style="position: absolute; z-index: 2; top: 44.2%; left: 40.8%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"><div style="position: relative; text-align: center; left: -3px; top: -3px; width: 6px; font-size: 6px;">7px</div><div style="font-size:90%; line-height: 110%; z-index:90; position: relative; top: -1.5em; width: 6em; right: 6.5em; text-align: center;"><span style="padding: 1px;">'''The attack site'''</span></div></div></div></div> |coordinates = {{coord|51|30|10.44|N|0|11|20.76|W|display=inline}} |image = Israeli embassy London.JPG |caption = Israeli embassy in London |target = Israeli embassy<br />Balfour House |time = |timezone = |type = Car bomb |fatalities = 0 |injuries = 20 |motive= Palestinian nationalism |convicted = Jawad 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.
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 {{convert|20|to|30|lb|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.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |date=26 July 1994 |title=Israel's London embassy bombed |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_2499000/2499619.stm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909193130/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_2499000/2499619.stm |archive-date=9 September 2017 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
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.<ref name="DocNo24">Yonah Alexander, Edgar H. Brenner (2013). [https://books.google.com/books?id=xyGPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA693 Document No 24], in ''UK's Legal Responses to Terrorism'', Routledge, p. 693</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=27 July 1994 |title=Bombing in London Hits Israeli Embassy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/27/world/bombing-in-london-hits-israeli-embassy.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> 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.<ref name="BBC" /> Shortly after the first explosion, a group calling itself the ''Palestinian Resistance Jaffa Group'' claimed responsibility in letters sent to two Arab newspapers.<ref name="DocNo24" />
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<ref>{{cite web |date=26 November 1998 |title=The bomber who never was |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-bomber-who-never-was-1187295.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-bomber-who-never-was-1187295.html |archive-date=1 May 2022 |access-date=20 May 2016 |website=The Independent}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=10 May 1999 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/340295.stm |access-date=2010-03-18 |publisher=BBC News|title=Israel embassy bombers to appeal}}</ref>—and Jawad Botmeh—a Palestinian electronics engineer educated at the University of Leicester and King's College London<ref name="GambettaHertog2016">{{cite book |last1=Gambetta |first1=Diego |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sirFCgAAQBAJ |title=Engineers of Jihad: The Curious Connection between Violent Extremism and Education |last2=Hertog |first2=Steffen |date=1 March 2016 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-8025-6 |page=23}}</ref>—were convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to cause explosions related to the 1994 bombings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Beckett |first=Andy |date=21 October 2000 |title=Caught in the blast |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/oct/21/weekend7.weekend1 |access-date=14 October 2010 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref> 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.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/oct/21/weekend7.weekend1 Caught in the blast ]. ''The Guardian'' (21 October 2000). Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref> Both admitted experimenting with homemade explosives, which they said were intended for demonstration purposes to be shared with Palestinians in the occupied territories.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Duncan |last2=Norton-Taylor |first2=Richard |date=1999-03-27 |title=M15 role in inquiry into Israeli embassy blast under scrutiny |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/mar/27/duncancampbell.richardnortontaylor |access-date=2018-08-11 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> They were each sentenced to twenty years in prison and lost an appeal in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 November 2001 |title=Tally Ho Bombers Lose Court Appeal |url=http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/15117.tally_ho_bombers_lose_court_appeal/ |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>
Amnesty International stated that Botmeh had been "denied his right to a fair trial."<ref name="timeshighereducation">{{cite web |first=John |last=Morgan |date=13 March 2013 |title=Botmeh suspension lifted by London Met |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/botmeh-suspension-lifted-by-london-met/2002583.article |access-date=2015-09-14 |publisher=timeshighereducation.co.uk}}</ref> 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).<ref>[https://www.unison.org.uk/motions/2003/national-delegate-conference/freedom-and-justice-for-samar-and-jawad/ Freedom and Justice for Samar and Jawad]. Unison (24 February 2003). Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref><ref>[http://www.mojuk.org.uk/bulletins/36.html MOJUK: Newsletter 'Inside Out' No 36]. MOJUK. Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref> Five early day motions in the British Parliament gained support from 71 MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Peter Bottomley, and Tom Brake.<ref>[https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20150901-the-latest-attack-on-jeremy-corbyn-is-only-half-the-story/ The latest attack on Jeremy Corbyn is only half the story]. Middle East Monitor (1 September 2015). Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref><ref>Swinford, Steven (1 September 2015). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11837454/Jeremy-Corbyn-campaigned-for-release-of-Embassy-bombers.html Jeremy Corbyn campaigned for release of Embassy bombers]. ''Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref>
In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights dismissed their appeal, ruling that their trial had not violated the right to a fair hearing.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6731873.stm Palestinian bombers appeal fails ]. BBC News (7 June 2007). Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref>
== 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.<ref>Taylor, Mike (27 October 2000). [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/shayler-was-right-over-bomb-at-israeli-embassy-634154.html Shayler was right over bomb at Israeli embassy]. ''The Independent''. Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref> Then–Home Secretary Jack Straw stated that MI5 could not have prevented the attack based on the available intelligence.<ref>Norton-Taylor, Richard (4 November 2002). [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/nov/04/davidshayler.richardnortontaylor Behind the MI5 trial]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 2019-07-17.</ref> Shayler's allegations were referenced in Botmeh and Alami's appeal by their lawyer Michael Mansfield QC, who noted the type of explosive used in the bombing was unknown, and that Jack Straw had prevented disclosure of intelligence agency information.<ref name="Guardian hid">{{Cite news |last=Hopkins |first=Nick |last2= |first2= |date=2000-10-25 |title=MI5 'hid' reports on embassy bombing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/oct/25/israel |access-date=2026-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Another former MI5 officer, Annie Machon, later said that an internal MI5 assessment concluded that the attack was conducted by Mossad in order to smear local Palestinian activists.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-21 |title=Operation Susannah 2.0? Tehran warns UK of Mossad-style plots to derail ties |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/513386/Operation-Susannah-2-0-Tehran-warns-UK-of-Mossad-style-plots |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=Tehran Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jay |first=Paul |date=2012-10-31 |title=From MI6 Al Qaeda Plot to Kill Gaddafi to Spying on Domestic Dissent: An MI5 Whistle Blowers Story |url=https://truthout.org/video/an-mi5-whistle-blowers-story/ |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=Truthout |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Later developments == Botmeh was released from prison in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |date=22 February 2013 |title=London Metropolitan University suspends researcher with car bomb conviction |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-21545445 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> He later worked as a researcher at London Metropolitan University,<ref name="bbc2">{{cite news |date=22 February 2013 |title=London Metropolitan University suspends researcher with car bomb conviction - BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21545445 |access-date=2015-09-14 |work=BBC News}}</ref> 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.<ref name="timeshighereducation" /><ref name="bbc2" /> The decision was reversed the following month and he was reinstated.<ref name="timeshighereducation"/>
== See also == *List of attacks against Israeli embassies and diplomats *2026 attack on Israeli consulate in Turkey
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/riddle-of-man-behind-israeli-embassy-bomb-1187401.html Riddle of man behind Israeli embassy bomb] (by Robert Fisk), The Independent, 26 November 1998 *[http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/1999/Mar-24/11661-new-evidence-suggests-activists-were-framed.ashx New evidence suggests activists were framed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810073559/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/1999/Mar-24/11661-new-evidence-suggests-activists-were-framed.ashx |date=10 August 2019 }}, The Daily Star, 24 March 1999
{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 1990s}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Israeli Embassy bombing, 1994}} Category:1994 in international relations London Embassy bombing Israeli Embassy bombing Category:1990s crimes in London Category:1990s trials Category:20th century in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Category:1994 building bombings Category:Car and truck bombings in 1994 Israeli Category:Attacks on diplomatic missions of Israel Category:Car and truck bombings in London Category:Israel–United Kingdom relations Category:July 1994 crimes Category:July 1994 in the United Kingdom Category:Palestinian terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom Category:Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1994 Category:Trials in London Category:Building bombings in London