But after Congress passed the omnibus spending bill last December, President Trump finally had the tool he needed to force Jordan to comply with the extradition treaty: the ability to withhold nearly $2 billion in annual funding given to Jordan for remaining at peace with Israel, should they, for example, continue to refuse to extradite American-murdering terrorists housed on their soil, however popular said terrorists might be with the domestic Palestinian mob. One suspects a deadline was quietly communicated, resulting in one of the pair of hot potatoes being handed off to a host less susceptible to American pressure.

The two are second cousins, as is so often the case in that part of the world, both members of the infamous al-Tamimi clan from the village of Nabi Salih — near Ramallah in the West Bank — that has for several generations waged war, both kinetic and propaganda as opportunity and individual temperament require, against Israel’s Jews. Dear Ahlam al-Tamimi regularly worked as a scout and escape driver for Hamas, then moved in front of a TV camera to report on the exciting events she had just been involved in. Possibly Nizar is also a Hamasnik, but other relatives belong to Fatah or the PLO in general, so there are lots of possibilities.