The attack took place one day after King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a Jordan-Israel peace treaty.

[2][3] Initially, the Israeli ambassador and British intelligence experts were blaming "pro-Iranian extremists, probably linked to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group.

In December 1996, two of them, both Palestinian science graduates educated in the UK, Jawad Botmeh and Samar Alami, were found guilty of "conspiracy to cause explosions" at the Old Bailey.

[5] Former MI5 agent David Shayler stated that the British security services were warned of a plan to attack the embassy in advance, yet took no action.

The Crown Prosecution Service later confirmed a warning had been received, though it related to a plan by a group unconnected to those who were convicted of the bombing.

[16] Numerous groups and individuals campaigned on behalf of the pair, including the government of Palestine, Amnesty International, Unison (Britain's largest trade union),[17] human rights activist Gareth Peirce, investigative journalist Paul Foot, and Miscarriages of JusticeUK (MOJUK),[18] Support for Alami and Botmeh's appeal attracted cross-party support in Parliament – five early day motions raised by John Austin MP were supported by a total of 71 Members of Parliament, including Labour Party MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, Conservative Party MPs Peter Bottomley and Robert Jackson, and Liberal Democrats Tom Brake and Colin Breed.

[22] He was suspended from work on 7 February 2013, having become an activist for his trade union, Unison; they have pointed out that his suspension was related to his election as a staff representative,[16] and that he had declared his conviction for involvement in two car bombs at the Israeli Embassy prior to appointment.