1994 London Israeli Embassy attack

 Attack on the Israeli embassy in London (bombing,  False Flag attack)

The attack site
Date	26 July 1994
Location	London
Coordinates	51°30′10.44″N 0°11′20.76″W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed.
Blamed on	Jawad Botmeh, Samar Alami
Type	car bomb
Injured (non-fatal)	20
Exposed by	Annie Machon, David Shayler
Interest of	Paul Foot

The Israeli Embassy in London was car-bombed on 26 July 1994 with around 20 to 30 pounds of explosive, injuring 14 people. The Israeli Ambassador and British intelligence experts blamed pro-Iranian extremists linked to Hezbollah.

Thirteen hours later a similar car bomb exploded outside Balfour House, the North London headquarters of the main Zionist organisation in London, allegedly injuring six.

Five Palestinians were arrested in London in January 1995 in connection with the bombings. In December 1996, two of them, both Palestinian science graduates who were educated in the UK, Jawad Botmeh and Samar Alami, were convicted of "conspiracy to cause explosions" with evidence of their political activities in support of Palestinians portrayed as evidence of involvement in terrorism.

None of the evidence presented in the trial demonstrated any involvement by the two Palestinians with the bombing, only that the two had come across someone who was connected to it. They were sentenced to 20 years in jail, and lost their appeal in Nov 2001.

Both continue to protest innocence of any crime as do a number of observers from the time. Nobody was convicted for the actual bombings.

Suspicious factors

The Embassy car-bomb was in a grey Audi 100 which was parked by a middle aged woman of Mediterranean appearance next door to the embassy in Kensington. The woman was approached by a police officer and security officer guarding the embassy (who were then caught in the blast and of whom there may be CCTV security footage. She has never been identified.

The bombing occurred eight days after a bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina (a car bomb injuring 20 people).

1997 David Shayler evidence

In November 1997, ex-MI5 agent David Shayler revealed to the media that MI5/MI6 had received a clear warning from a reliable source that the Israeli Embassy in London would be attacked in July 1994. This warning is crucial new evidence in the case. If it is as described, then the July 1994 bombings could not have been carried out by Samar and Jawad. Further, in August 1998, investigative journalist Paul Foot established from Mr Shayler that there was another hidden piece of information. This is a report written in September-October 1994 by a senior MI6 officer involved in the investigation, in which he concluded that Israeli intelligence could have been involved in the attacks.

Both pieces of evidence were withheld from court at the time of the trial. They completely contradict the main premise of the prosecution, namely that an "intelligence vacuum" surrounded the bombings, which were carried out by a few London-based Palestinians. They are in accordance with the fact that the highly professional and precise attacks must have been carried out by well-trained, experienced, group or international terrorist organisation. As a reminder, the trial judge accepted that neither Samar nor Jawad belonged to a terrorist organisation.

The defence has been asking for this and other evidence since 1997. Yet, it is only during the appeal in October 2000, that the first Shayler revelation was confirmed. After yet another PII hearing (a hearing that excludes the defence), the appeal judges gave the defence only one hand- written, short document, which goes further than Shayler's first revelation: MI5, MI6, police and the prosecution knew, prior to the bombings, that a terrorist organisation was planning the attacks. Without elaborating, the document says that subsequent "intelligence information" indicates that this terrorist organisation did not carry out the bombings, and claims incredibly that, as a result of no less than six counts of "human error" and "oversight", this information was not even disclosed to the trial judge. Thus far, the appeal judges are refusing to disclose anything else. As such, THE DISCLOSURE OF A PREVIOUSLY SUPPRESSED PIECE OF EVIDENCE IS MINIMAL AND INSUFFICIENT. The warning received by the Israeli embassy itself before the bombing and the second Shayler revelation are only two items of a long list of material that the defence has been denied for the last 6 years.

1998 delays

By November 1998, more than a year after the former MI5 agent David Shayler revealed the British security services were warned about the 1994 bombing of the Israeli embassy in London, Gareth Pierce, lawyer for the two, was still waiting for the Crown Prosecution Service to give her information about who was behind the attack. She complained to the Director of Public Prosecutions about the failure to respond to her request but to no avail.

2001 appeal rejected

At the Court of Appeal in October 2000, the prosecution admitted there had been a covering-up vital evidence. The instrument used was a ‘PII’ order (‘Public Interest Immunity’) issued in Nov 1996. Explosive traces found at the bomb sites apparently suggested that a known terrorist organisation, with no connections to Samar or Jawad, was probably responsible for the bombings.

Leading defence counsel Michael Mansfield, QC stated to the Court of Appeal in 2000:

It is an astonishing and incredible failure in the duty of disclosure by those who are responsible ... a catalogue of disasters, errors and failures by at least eight different individuals, at seven different stages, beginning with the domestic security service and going all the way up to the Home Office .... Had it not been for David Shayler, the CPS would still be saying to us that there is nothing further to be revealed.

Nevertheless, on 1st Nov 2001, Lord Justice Rose, sitting with Mr Justice Hooper and Mr Justice Goldring, said that there was "no demonstrated breach" of article six of the human rights convention, which guarantees a fair trial. The court also rejected a submission by their lawyers that their sentences were "manifestly excessive".

Their UK solicitor Gareth Pierce is emphatic that they were innocent. The late Paul Foot, famous campaigning journalist agreed.

Aftermath

Jawad Botmeh was released from prison on 5 August 2008. Samar Alami was released in June 2009 and deported to Lebanon. Both continue to protest their complete innocence of any crime.

Professional terrorists did it?

Former MI5 agent and whistleblower David Shayler is on record as having stated "I was astounded to read a document by a senior MI5 member who had seen all the evidence coming in say he believed the Israelis had bombed their own embassy..."

Robert Fisk said that it is most unusual that two meticulously and professionally prepared bombings in the middle of London did not lead to multiple fatalities. (The bombing 8 days earlier in Argentina led to none either). They wondered if this might indicate some Israeli involvement, perhaps as part of an attempt to persuade the British to increase security provisions.

Wikipedia bias

The Wikipedia article 1994 London Israeli Embassy attack presents none of the concerns about this case, or the Shayler connection. The map at the article shows a location in East London, many miles from either place where bombs went off.

See Also

• File:JusticeDenied.pdf - The Israeli Embassy and Balfour House bombings. The wrongful convictions of Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh with foreword by Paul Foot. 1999

• File:Israeli Embassy Bomb Appeal book.pdf - Cover-up confirmed. An EBook about the continuing story of "human errors" and the case of Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh. 2001

• File:Israeli embassy case.pdf - Chapter 14 of the Annie Machon Book "Spies Lies and Whistleblowers"

• File:InfiniteInjustice.pdf - Infinite Injustice - Human Rights Breaches and the Wrongful Convictions of Samar Alami & Jawad Botmeh - July 2002

External Links

• The bomber who never was - Robert Fisk - The Independent 26 November 1998

• Embassy bombing appeal is stalled - Robert Fisk - The Independent 30 November 1998

• Freedom and Justice for Samar and Jawad campaign site