Murder of Yaron and Efrat Ungar

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Murder of Yaron and Efrat Ungar
Part of
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades[2]
No. of participants
2 Palestinian gunmen

The Murder of Yaron and Efrat Ungar was a shooting attack on June 9, 1996, during which two Palestinian gunmen killed Yaron and Efrat Ungar as they drove on a road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel near Beit Shemesh. The Palestinian gunmen fired twenty bullets from their Mitsubishi van into the couple's car. Although the bullets missed the couple's one-year-old son, who was in a car seat in the back, both Yaron and Efrat were killed.

The Ungars estate sued Yasser Arafat, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Islamic group Hamas in March 2000 in a Providence, Rhode Island, United States federal court house for wrongful death due to the defendants' encouragement of terrorism in the Kiryat Arba region. Although the estate won $116 million in 2004, the judgment was overturned on appeal in 2010, while the Ungars estate, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian Authority entered into a confidential settlement in February 2011 to end the case.

Background

Yaron and Efrat Ungar were a married couple who, along with their one-year-old son Yishai and two-year-old son Dvir, lived in

Judean Mountains region of the West Bank.[3] In 1996, country ownership of the region was disputed and residence of Kiryat Arba had been subjected to multiple terrorist attacks.[3]

The attack

On June 9, 1996, the couple drove back from a wedding they attended, during the night, on the

Kiryat Malachi-Beit Shemesh road (Route 383) with their one-year-old son Yishai whom was seated in a car seat in the back. The Ungars were on their way to pick up their son Dvir from his grandmother's house.[3][4]

When they drove near moshav Gefen, two Palestinian gunmen pulled up alongside in a Mitsubishi van and fired 20 bullets into the front seat of the Ungar's moving car.[3] Both Yaron and Efrat were killed but Yishai survived.[3]

It was later determined that one of the weapons, a

Kalashnikov assault rifle, was the same weapon used in a January 1996 attack that killed two Israeli soldiers.[3]

Victims

The perpetrators

The attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant cell, belonging to the

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, from the West Bank village of Surif.[2]

Aftermath

black memorial plague for Yaron and Efi Ungar
Memorial plague for Yaron and Efi Ungar in a synagogue in Sha'arei Tikva.

In March 2000, the Unger estate, filed a lawsuit against defendants

PNA and the PLO in the same case. Six years later, in 2010, the appeals court overturned the ruling and sent the case back to U.S. District Court to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority to present their side.[10] In February 2011, the Ungar estate obtained a confidential settlement and ended the case.[11]

Release of Assailant

Main article:
Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal

On 18 October 2011 Rahman Ghanimat, who was originally sentenced to 5 life sentences for his part in the killing of Yaron and Efrat Ungar, was released to Gaza as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.[12]

References

  1. ^ Bronner, Ethan (June 11, 1996). "Arab world tests Netanyahu early". Boston Globe.[dead link]
  2. ^ a b "אחד ממנהיגי חוליית צוריף: אנו מתגאים במה שעשינו". Globes. 1998-02-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e f John Donnelly (June 11, 1996). "New Violence In Israel Comes At Time Of Delicate Transition". Miami Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved October 23, 2012.[dead link]
  4. Baltimore Sun. p. 17A. Archived from the original
    on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  5. ^ "Efrat Ungar". Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Yaron Ungar". Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b Rachel Zoll (March 13, 2000). "Jewish Survivors Sue Arafat, PLO". Associated Press.
  8. ^
    Providence Journal Bulletin. p. 3. Retrieved October 23, 2012.[dead link
    ]
  9. ^ $116m awarded in terrorism suit Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine The Boston Globe
  10. Canadian Press. March 30, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2012.[dead link
    ]
  11. Providence Journal Bulletin. Retrieved October 23, 2012.[dead link
    ]
  12. ^ Archived copy Archived 2018-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
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