A leading Israeli lawfare organization called on the American envoy to Israel to push for the extradition of a Jordan-based terrorist who planned a deadly suicide bombing in Jerusalem in the early 2000s, during the Second Intifada.
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Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, which represents some of the victims of 2001 the Sbarro attack has called on Ambassador Thomas Nides to push the request to extradite Ahlam Tamimi from Jordan to the United States.
The Sbarro massacre took place on Aug. 9, 2001, when a suicide bomber targeted a popular pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem, killing 15 Israelis, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and leaving 140 wounded.
The bomber was identified as Izz al-Din Shuheil al-Masri. The terrorist who made the suicide vest was later identified as Abdallah Barghouti, who in 2004 was convicted of aiding and abetting dozens of terrorist attacks and sentenced to 67 life sentences.
The investigation further revealed that al-Masri was escorted to the restaurant by Tamimi, then a 20-year-old university student, who had disguised herself as a Jewish tourist for the occasion.
Later in 2001, Tamimi, a Jordanian national, was convicted by an Israeli military court of planning the attack and was sentenced to 16 life sentences plus 15 years. She was released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange with Hamas and was expelled to Jordan
Soon after her return, she became a media personality. She often praises the attack she orchestrated on various platforms and has a sharp anti-Israel line in her work.
American legislators have in the past demanded that Tamimi be extradited to the US, citing the role she played in the murder of American citizens in the attack. The demand was dismissed by various US administrations who expressed concern that pursuing her extradition would destabilize King Abdullah's regime.
Shurat HaDin has rejected the American position. Organization President Nitsana Darshan-Leitner appealed to Nides, writing, "The American administration has long since announced filing indictments against Tamimi, and has made an official commitment to the [victims'] families that it would demand Tamimi's extradition so she could face trial."
She added that Washington "made it clear" in 2017 that "the American administration does not see itself bound by the Schalit deal, and they promised that they would work to extradite Tamimi and bring the terrorist to justice.
"Five years have passed since that meeting and the American administration continues to avoid acting on the extradition request, making all kinds of excuses," she challenged.
"It appears that the American administration is extremely sensitive about Palestinian terrorists who murdered American citizens but has different standards when it comes to Arab and Jewish victims."
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