The Hamas terrorist who orchestrated a 2001 terror attack in Jerusalem that killed an American teen and 14 others has been living like “a rock star” in Jordan — and the girl’s grieving dad hopes President Trump will help bring the “monster” to justice when he meets King Abdullah II in the White House Tuesday.
Malki Roth was a flute-playing, pizza-loving 15-year-old savoring summer vacation when she and a close friend darted to their favorite Sbarro’s in the heart of a bustling Jerusalem on Aug. 9, 2001.
But a suicide bomber standing next to the girls at the counter suddenly peeled open his guitar case and detonated his cocktail of explosives, nails, nuts and bolts in an attack that left 130 injured and 15 dead, including Malki and two other Americans.
The architect of the bombing, Ahlam Tamimi, confessed and was sentenced in 2003 in Israel to 16 life sentences, only to be unexpectedly sprung in 2011 as part of a prisoner swap with the terror group.
The US Justice Department disclosed terrorism charges against Tamimi, now 44, in March 2017 and formally notified Jordan of its request that she be extradited to face trial in Washington.
The FBI has put a $5 million reward on her head.
Despite being on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, Tamimi became a television host and public speaker who lives as a celebrity in Jordan, Malki’s dad Arnold told The Post.
“President Trump, help us get long-delayed justice for our murdered child,” he pleaded. “I see this as a moment which we haven’t had up until now, to say, ‘President Trump, help make justice happen.’ “
Roth is beseeching US officials and the president to enforce the 1995 extradition treaty between the US and Jordan to finally bring Tamimi to justice.
“It really has been a nightmare for years — parts of it are unbearable,” Roth told The Post from his home in Jerusalem. “I’m still trembling.”
Jordan has put Hamas on notice to take in Tamimi, lest the Hashemite Kingdom be forced to extradite her to the US, according to a report.
“She’s been dancing on my daughter’s grave all these years,” said Roth, noting how Tamimi has bragged about the death toll from the Sbarro attack, which the then-20-year-old mastermind devised in order to maximize carnage with tourists and children. “She’s completely unrepentant.”
Malki, who was raised in Jerusalem to an American mom from Queens, loved visiting New York.
Roth sees the upcoming visit by the King of Jordan as an historic opportunity.
“We’ve been trying for years to bring our daughter’s murderer to court – she belongs in an American prison as soon as possible,” said Roth, whose IDF reservist son-in-law was killed by Hamas in December 2023, the second family loss at the hands of the terror group.
The case may finally “be ripe to be high on the radar” for the new administration, including AG Pam Bondi, and incoming FBI director, Kash Patel, “who’s very in tune with counterrorism issues and victims of terror from the US and seeking extradition on those who have perpetrated such crimes against American citizens, like Tamimi,” said Richard Goldberg, senior advisor for The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a DC think tank.
On the heels of Trump calling on Egypt and Jordan to absorb refugees from Gaza, which the president called a “demoliiton site” after the nearly 16 months of war following the Oct. 7 attacks, “Jordan is being not such a good partner,” said Goldberg, a former White House staffer at the National Security Council.
Jordan’s public and unequivocal refusal of Trump’s ask gives the US “an opportunity” to crack down on the country, which “has been giving a pass on Tamimi for years.”
The US can flex its muscle to say, “We’re not going to give you a pass anymore. We’re going to demand the extradition now,” said Goldberg.
“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 said in a statement to The Post.
Roth, who hopes to send videos of Malki playing flute and passages from her precious diary to the president, believes Trump is “ready to mess with anyone if they get in his way.
“We’re not interested in vengeance – it’s only about justice.”
