The report noted that an Israeli court convicted Tamimi for her role in the attack and that she spent eight years in an Israeli prison before being released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
But it did not mention Tamimi's own repeated admissions about orchestrating the bombing, which killed 15 people and injured more than 100. She described the attack as “my operation” and said: “Allah granted me success.”
The rejection of the complaint about the story on BBC Arabic comes despite the corporation broadcasting an apology on its Arabic channel in 2020 after describing Tamimi as merely "accused" in a separate report.
When media watchdog Camera (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) complained about the latest report, a process lasting 230 working days, nearly five times longer than the period set out in the corporation's complaints framework, ultimately ended with its complaint being rejected.
Roth says it is his 'life's mission' to bring Tamimi to justice (Photo: Jennie Wren Milne)[Missing Credit]
The BBC stated: "It is not within BBC Arabic's remit to determine whether Jordan should extradite Ahlam Tamimi or not."
BBC editors also argued that the reference to Tamimi being “accused” related to her legal status in the United States, where she faces terrorism charges and a $5 million reward is being offered for information leading to her arrest, but where she has not been convicted.
A spokesperson for Camera accused the BBC of “whitewashing violence against Israeli civilians”.
“It has long been clear that the news product the World Service tells the British public it is funding is not the one BBC Arabic actually delivers. UK politicians should demand accountability accordingly,” the spokesperson said.
Roth, who has previously challenged the BBC over its coverage of Tamimi, said the corporation had failed to accurately inform audiences about a convicted terrorist.
“Like most people, I would strongly prefer to get on with my own life and ignore how the BBC via its BBC Arabic arm does somersaults in the air to protect one of the Arab world's most iconic, most admired killers of Jewish children. It's been doing that for years,” he said.
Roth remains focused on efforts to secure Tamimi's extradition to the US, where federal terrorism charges were filed against her in 2013 and where she is on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list.
"I want Tamimi sent to Washington to face criminal trial on terror charges that were issued there by the Department of Justice in 2013," he said.
He pointed to Tamimi's extensive public record of admissions, including statements describing how she scouted targets in Jerusalem, selected the timing of the attack to maximise casualties, and escorted the suicide bomber to the restaurant carrying the explosives-filled guitar case used in the attack.
“Tamimi told an Israeli court that she was guilty of all the charges brought against her,” Roth said. “The smile on my face, she told the judges, will not be erased.”
According to Roth, BBC Arabic's failure to include those admissions while describing her as merely “accused” creates a picture that is "coldly misleading" for Arabic-speaking audiences.
“Tamimi's admissions are well-documented, form part of the public record, are routinely echoed in adulatory reports in the Arab media, and form the basis of the iconic status and massive influence conferred on Tamimi in wide parts of the Arab world and beyond it,” he said.
“But for BBC Arabic, the case against Tamimi is mere 'accusations'. Coldly misleading the Arabic-speaking consumers of their reporting, the BBC's people soften the portrayal of a high-profile, unrepentant terrorist who explicitly seeks to inspire others to follow her path and turn her into something unrecognisable.”
Roth criticised the broadcaster's handling of the complaint, saying it revealed a “striking absence of good faith”.
He also challenged the BBC's characterisation of the extradition dispute, stating that Jordan is deliberately shielding Tamimi from prosecution despite treaty obligations with the US.
“The much more shabby reality is that Jordan is opportunistically blocking extradition,” he said. “It's shielding a woman famous for owning up to a bombing atrocity that targeted children.”
“News consumers deserve basic factual context about how Tamimi goes on living,” he added.
The BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit, the highest and final stage of the complaints process for stories on its World Service, concluded that audiences would not be materially misled by the report's omission of Tamimi's admissions and expressions of pride in the attack.
Roth said that assessment by the corporation was “massively disingenuous”.
The BBC was approached for comment.
An FBI wanted poster for Tamimi (Photo: FBI)[Missing Credit]