Outrage erupts after Interpol drops international warrant for notorious Palestinian terrorists behind Sbarro bombing.
By Algemeiner Staff
Outrage erupted on Sunday after it was revealed that Interpol had dropped its international warrant for Palestinian terrorist Ahlam Tamimi, who was involved in the 2001 suicide bombing at the Sbarro pizza parlor in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including American citizen Malki Roth.
Tamimi was serving over a dozen life sentences in an Israeli prison when she was freed in 2011, as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. She lives in Jordan, which has refused to extradite her to the United States for trial.
She remains listed as a “most wanted terrorist” by the FBI.
The Times of Israel reported on March 12 that Interpol had dropped the international warrant, saying Tamimi was no longer “subject to an Interpol notice.” Tamimi’s picture was also taken off Interpol’s most wanted list.
Her husband Nizar Tamimi wrote on Facebook that the move was a result of a year-and-a-half of pressure and that the campaign to expunge her terrorist record was not over.
“Our struggle will continue until her file is completely closed, and we will meet after our prolonged separation and enjoy the free, stable life for which we have yearned,” he said.
The Twitter account @PalesAbroad posted what appeared to be a picture of Tamimi cutting a cake in celebration.
بعد معركة قانونية استمرت لعام ونصف أثبتت لجنة الدفاع عن “أحلام التميمي” بطلان قانونية الجلب والإحضار التي تضمنتها النشرة الحمراء للإنتربول الدولي.
فيما لا زالت القضية الأساسية في المحاكم الأمريكية. pic.twitter.com/dyy7ouhJ3b— فلسطينيو الخارج (@PalesAbroad) March 11, 2021
Malki Roth’s father Arnold called Interpol’s move “blunt and unwelcome” on the family’s blog, and said the international group had “succumbed to pressure from the fugitive’s family, lawyers, and clan in Jordan.”
“My wife and I will not give up in our efforts to see this loathsome person — the embodiment of murderous bigotry — eventually brought to justice to answer for her crimes,” he pledged.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, sent a letter to Interpol’s secretary-general urging him to reverse the decision, noting that Tamimi “has publicly shown lack of remorse and claimed her pride for this attack.”
“Palestinian abuses of international organizations — political, legal, cultural, educational — have turned them into battlefields,” he said. “We have heard that INTERPOL has removed Al-Tamimi from its ‘Most Wanted list.’ Such an outrageous step would encourage further terrorism and deny justice and closure for the victims and survivors.”