After 22 years in a coma, Israeli woman critically wounded in 2001 Jerusalem suicide bombing dies

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli woman critically wounded in a 2001 suicide bombing at a Jerusalem restaurant has died, an Israeli hospital said Thursday. Her death marks the sixteenth fatality from that attack.

Hana Nachenberg was 31 at the time and was dining with her 3-year-old daughter when the blast occurred, Israeli media reported. She was in a coma for nearly 22 years until she died on Wednesday, reports said. Her daughter was not hurt in the attack.

On Aug. 9, 2001, a Palestinian bomber walked into a Jerusalem pizzeria and blew himself up. The attack remains one of the most infamous in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and it came at a time of surging violence between the sides during the second Palestinian intifada or uprising.

Aftershocks of the attack, which wounded dozens, still make news today. The family of an Israeli-American girl killed in the attack is waging a campaign to press Jordan, a close American ally, to send a woman convicted of aiding the attacker to the United States for trial.

Ahlam Tamimi was convicted of choosing the target and guiding the bomber there and was sentenced by Israel to 16 life sentences. Israel released her in a 2011 prisoner swap with the Hamas militant group and she was sent to Jordan, where she lives freely and has been a familiar face in the media.

The U.S. has charged Tamimi with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against Americans. Her name was added to the FBI’s list of Most Wanted Terrorists.