JERUSALEM— The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan faces increasing pressure to extradite Ahlam Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi, a self-confessed female Hamas terrorist. She orchestrated the 2001 terrorist bombing at a Jerusalem pizzeria, which killed 16 people, including three Americans and eight children.
Frimet and Arnold Roth, parents of Malki Roth, a 15-year-old U.S. citizen murdered in the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria bombing, held a virtual meeting on July 17, 2025, with Jeanine F. Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
The U.S. State Department has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to al-Tamimi’s capture. This comes amidst reports that Jordan’s King Abdullah II has taken a firm stance, refusing to extradite the accused mass murderer.
“You have the capacity to push for her extradition, to ensure that the 1995 treaty is honored, to show Jordan and its population along with the watching world that harboring terrorists has consequences,” Arnold Roth stated to Pirro during the meeting, according to a family press release issued afterwards.
The 24th anniversary of the August 9, 2001 bombing is scheduled for next month.
Roth further stated, “We’re here today to implore you to act. Jordan needs to know the U.S. cannot tolerate the protection of a murderer of American citizens. U.S. justice needs to be respected by the world and, without hammering this point too hard, by America’s lawmakers and senior officials.”
The Roths indicated that the meeting concentrated on the necessity for “concrete steps” to advance the long-delayed extradition of al-Tamimi.
Al-Tamimi’s victims included Judith Shoshana Greenberg and Chana Nachenberg in the 2001 attack. “All the victims deserve justice,” Arnold Roth remarked, emphasizing that Tamimi’s extradition should become a “true priority” for the U.S. Department of Justice.
When asked if the extradition of al-Tamimi was raised by U.S. Secretary of State in his Wednesday meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, a State Department spokesperson told Digital, “The United States has continually emphasized to the Government of Jordan the importance of holding Ahlam al-Tamimi, the convicted terrorist released by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap, accountable in a U.S. court for her admitted role in a 2001 bombing in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including Americans Malka Chana Roth, Judith Shoshana Greenbaum, and Chana Nachenberg. The United States continues to impress upon the Government of Jordan that Tamimi is a brutal murderer who should be brought to justice.”
The State Department referred Digital to the Department of Justice for additional information about the U.S. criminal case against al-Tamimi.
The Justice Department and Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to Digital press inquiries.
Al-Tamimi is included on the list. She is the second female to appear on this terrorism list.
Frimet Roth conveyed to U.S. Attorney Pirro that “We cannot carry this fight alone any longer. Judge Pirro, please, be the voice for Malki and the other American victims. Be the advocate for justice that has been denied for too long. We beg you to act—not for our sake alone, but for the integrity of American law and the sanctity of every life lost to terror.”
The Roths also delivered a petition with approximately 30,000 signatures to U.S. Ambassador to Israel in May 2025, urging the Trump administration to pressure Jordan for al-Tamimi’s extradition.
Arnold Roth informed Digital that “No senior figure from State has ever, in all the years of our fight for justice, agreed to speak with us. Their treatment of us and of the Tamimi case is deplorable. Victoria Nuland, then one of the top-ranking figures in the State Department. Nuland wrote to us in the names of President Biden and then-Sec of State Antony Blinken, and told us that the Tamimi case was quote ‘a foremost priority’ for the U.S. And that they would keep us informed. She then [they] ignored every follow-up letter that I sent her, and of course so said Biden and Blinken.”
Jordan’s government is a significant recipient of U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
According to a January 2025 , “Since 2015, the Department of State has provided Jordan with $2.155 billion in FMF, which makes Jordan the third-largest global recipient of FMF funds over that time period. In addition, the Department of Defense (DoD) has provided $327 million to the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) under its 333 authority since 2018, making Jordan one of the largest recipients of this funding.”
Al-Tamimi reportedly boasted about her terrorist operation in Arab media and called for more terrorism against Israel. “Of course. I do not regret what happened. Absolutely not. This is the path. I dedicated myself to jihad for the sake of Allah, and Allah granted me success. You know how many casualties there were [in the 2001 attack on the Sbarro pizzeria]. This was made possible by Allah. Do you want me to denounce what I did? That’s out of the question. I would do it again today, and in the same manner,” she stated in 2011, according to a .
In 2017, the U.S. Justice Department publicly announced that her with the Jerusalem suicide bombing.
Digital sent multiple press inquiries to Jordan’s government and its embassies in Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv.