Date September 23, 1956 Deaths 4 Israelis | Attack type Shooting attack Non-fatal injuries 16 Israelis | |
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Perpetrators Jordanian Legion soldiers | ||
The Ramat Rachel shooting attack was a shooting attack carried out by Jordanian Legion soldiers, on September 23, 1956, who opened fire across the Israel/Jordan border on a group of Israeli archaeologists working inside Israeli sovereign territory near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. Four Jewish archaeologists were killed in the event and 16 others were wounded.
Contents
The attack
On Sunday, 23 September 1956, a tour was held for a group of Israeli archaeologists at the archaeological excavations near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. During the tour machine-gun fire was opened on the archaeologists from Jordanian positions at Mar Elias Monastery near the Jerusalem-Bethlehem road. The fire killed four people, including the archaeologist Jacob Pinkerfeld, and 16 others were wounded. Another person who was seriously injured in the shooting died eventually of his wounds five years later.
Official reactions
Aftermath
In response to the Ramat Rachel shooting attack, The Israeli Defence Forces carried out the Operation Lulav on September 25, 1956; the counterattack was held in the Arab village Husan, near Bethlehem.