Non-fatal injuries 7–9 Attack type Suicide attack | Start date April 16, 1993 | |
 | ||
Location Mehola Junction, West Bank, (Israeli Civil Administration area) Perpetrators One Palestinian suicide bomber (Shahar al-Nabulsi). Hamas claimed responsibility. Total number of deaths 2 (the bomber and a bystander) | ||
The Mehola Junction bombing (also known as the Beit El bombing, literally, the House of God bombing) was the first suicide car bomb attack carried out by Palestinian militants and took place on 16 April 1993.
Hamas bombmaker Yahya Ayyash rigged a Volkswagen Transporter using three large propane tanks and explosives collected from grenades and other ordnance. The bomb was connected to a detonator switch in the driver's controls.
Hamas operative Saher Tamam al-Nabulsi drove the car to Mehola Junction, a rest area on the Jordan Valley Highway in the West Bank. Just after 1:00 AM, the car exploded between two buses, one civilian and one military. The blast killed al-Nabulsi and Marwan Ghani, a Palestinian from the nearby village of Bardala who worked in a snack bar in Mehola. Ghani's brother and eight Israeli soldiers were slightly injured.