This Week in History: Suicide bombings on London transport devastates UK

Premium special: A glimpse into historical moments in Israeli news from this week in 'The Jerusalem Post' front covers.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
On July 7, 2005, London was hit by a devastating terror attack that killed 52 civilians and wounded over 700. Four British Islamist men blew up three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus, marking the first suicide attack Britain had ever seen, described by then Prime Minister Tony Blair as the worst attacks since World War II. All four of the terrorists died while carrying out the attacks. 
 
On July 6 1989, Palestinian terrorist Abed al-Hadi Ghaneim hijacked the No. 405 Egged bus traveling from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and ran it off the edge of a cliff, killing 16 people and injuring 17. Most of those killed in the attack were still trapped in the bus when it burst into flames. On October 30 of that year, the Jerusalem District Court sentenced Ghaneim to 16 life sentences, after he admitted to carrying out the attack. However 22 years later, Ghaneim walked out of prison a free man, one of the 1,027 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons in return for former IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, who spent five-and-a-half years in Hamas-captivity in Gaza.
On July 11, 2000, then US president Bill Clinton convened the historic Camp David Summit, with then prime minister Ehud Olmert representing Israel and then Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat representing the Palestinians. The summit aimed to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but broke down over issues at the heart of the conflict, with each side blaming the other for the breakdown of talks. Two months later, the Second Intifada broke out.