Murder of the Hatuel family

Killing of Tali Hatuel and her four daughters
Part of the Second Intifada
Murder of the Hatuel family is located in Northwest Negev region of Israel
Murder of the Hatuel family
The attack site
LocationKissufim Crossing
Coordinates31°22′41″N 34°21′27″E / 31.37806°N 34.35750°E / 31.37806; 34.35750
DateMay 2, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-05-02)
12:40 pm (UTC+3)
Attack type
Shooting attack
WeaponsAutomatic rifles
DeathsAn 8 months pregnant mother and her 4 children (5)
(+ 2 attackers)
PerpetratorsIslamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility
AssailantsIbrahim Hammad, Faisal Abu Maj'ra
No. of participants
2

The Murder of the Hatuel family was a shooting attack on May 2, 2004, in which Palestinian militants killed Tali Hatuel, a Jewish settler, who was eight months pregnant, and her four daughters, aged two to eleven.[1][2][3] The attack took place near the Kissufim Crossing near their home in Gush Katif bloc of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada.[2][3][4] After shooting at the vehicle in which Hatuel was driving with her daughters, witnesses said the militants approached the vehicle and shot the occupants repeatedly at close range.[3]

An alliance of Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was carried out in reprisal for the assassinations of Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdelaziz Rantisi by the Israeli army some weeks earlier.[3][5]

The attack shocked the Israeli public,[6] and was classified by Amnesty International as a crime against humanity.[5] On June 6, 2007, the IDF arrested Jihad Salah Saliman Abu Dahar, a Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad from the Khan Yunis area, who according to Shin Bet officials admitted to several acts of violence, including the attack on Hatuel and her daughters.[7][8]

  1. ^ Michael Feige (2009). Settling in the Hearts: Jewish Fundamentalism in the Occupied Territories. Wayne State University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8143-2750-0. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference smh20040503 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference h-Hasson20040503 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b "Israel/Occupied Territories: AI condemns murder of woman and her four daughters by Palestinian gunmen". Amnesty International. May 4, 2004.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference y20050925 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference h20070717 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference mfa 16-Jul-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).