US ambassador calls for extradition of Sbarro terrorist on 25th anniversary of grisly bombing

By Lazar Berman

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9 August 2026, 11:30 am

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Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Police and medics surround the scene of a suicide bombing inside Jerusalem's Sbarro restaurant, Thursday, August 9, 2001. Fifteen people were killed, and 130 injured. A sixteenth victim died in 2023. (AP/Peter Dejong)

Marking 25 years from a grisly Palestinian suicide bombing at a Sbarro pizzeria in central Jerusalem, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee calls for the extradition of a Jordanian woman who helped carry out the deadly attack, in which three Americans were among the 16 killed.

“Twenty-five years ago today, a Hamas suicide bomber murdered 16 people and injured more than 120 at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem,” writes Huckabee on X. “Among the victims were Americans Judith Greenbaum, Chana Nachenberg, and 15-year-old Malka Roth. May their memories be a blessing.”

Hamas terrorist Ahlam Tamimi chose the target and guided the bomber there. Tamimi found shelter in Jordan after being released from prison in a 2011 deal in which Israel freed 1,027 terrorists in exchange for captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

There she has lived freely, holding citizenship, hosting a TV program, giving lectures and making numerous public appearances extolling the bombing.

Twenty-five years ago today, a Hamas suicide bomber murdered 16 people and injured more than 120 at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem. Among the victims were Americans Judith Greenbaum, Chana Nachenberg, and 15-year-old Malka Roth. May their memories be a blessing.

We stand with…

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) August 9, 2026

“We stand with Israel against terrorism in all its forms and remain committed to bringing every last fugitive of this heinous act to justice,” writes Huckabee, sharing a link to the $5 million State Department bounty on Tamimi.

In 2017, the US Justice Department announced it was seeking her extradition, a step that had been urged by the Roth family, but which was rebuffed by Amman.

In 2017, Jordan’s high court ruled she could not be extradited to the US, reportedly saying the 1995 treaty between the countries had not been ratified.

Tamimi has also claimed the US has no right to charge her because she was already tried and sentenced in Israel. The US insisted in a 2018 report, however, that the extradition treaty is valid in the case of Tamimi.