Israeli woman in coma for 22 years after 2001 Jerusalem suicide bombing dies

Mourners attend the funeral of Hana Nachenberg, in Modiin, Israel. Credit: AP

An Israeli woman critically wounded in a 2001 suicide bombing at a Jerusalem restaurant has died, almost 22 years after the attack.

Hana Nachenberg, who was 31 at the time, had been dining with her three-year-old daughter when the blast occurred, Israeli media reported.

Her death on Wednesday marks the 16th fatality from the terrorist attack which took place on August 9, 2001.

Ms Nachenberg's daughter, who is now in her mid-20s, was not hurt in the explosion, which wounded dozens more.

The attack, which remains one of the most infamous in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, occurred after a Palestinian bomber walked into a Jerusalem pizzeria and blew himself up.

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Police and medics surround the scene of a bomb explosion in a restaurant in Jerusalem, on August 9, 2001. Credit: AP

It came at a time of surging violence between the sides during the second Palestinian intifada - or uprising.

The family of an Israeli-American girl killed in the attack is still campaigning to this day to press Jordan, a close US ally, to send a woman convicted of aiding the attacker to be deported for trial.

Ahlam Tamimi, who was convicted of choosing the target and guiding the bomber there, was sentenced 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 become a familiar face in the media.

The US has charged Tamimi with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against US citizens, and her name has been added to the FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists.

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