Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi indicted for slapping IDF soldier
Israeli military court convicts 16-year-old after footage shows her assaulting members of the Israeli army
An Israeli military court has indicted a teenage Palestinian girl who was filmed last month in the West Bank slapping Israeli troops.
Palestinians have since hailed Ahed Tamimi, 16, as an icon in their fight against Israel. In Israel, the footage sparked debate about the soldiers’ refusal to react.
The court indicted Ms Tamimi on several accounts including attacking soldiers as well as for previous altercations with Israeli forces. It extended her remand for eight days.
She was filmed in December outside her family home, pushing, kicking and slapping the soldiers, who fended off the blows without retaliating.
Her father Bassem has said she was upset when she approached the soldiers after her 15-year-old cousin had been shot with a rubber bullet.
The military confirmed rubber bullets had been used following what it said was a violent demonstration but had no information about who was shot.
Bassem called Monday’s indictment a “political trial”, saying Israel dug up old incidents as well as the one filmed in order to “justify her arrest”.
Ms Tamimi was arrested at her home in a pre-dawn raid three days after the confrontation amid an uproar in Israel.
She has made headlines in the past, most famously in 2015 when she bit a soldier’s hand as he held her brother in a chokehold in an attempted arrest.
She is from Nebi Saleh is a village of about 600 people, most of them members of Ms Tamimi’s extended family.
In a separate case, the family of a female Palestinian lawmaker who has been jailed without charge since July said her detention has been extended for another six months.
Khalida Jarrar has been held under an Israeli policy called administrative detention, which allows Palestinians to be arrested for months at a time without any charges being filed.
Ms Jarrar, who is in her mid-50s, is a popular figure among Palestinians and is known for speeches against Israel. In 2015, Israel sentenced her to 15 months for incitement to violence.
She is a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a left-leaning faction opposed to peace with Israel and which is branded a terrorist group in the west.
The group was involved in hijackings and other major attacks in the 1970s but has largely scaled back its militant activities in recent years.
Her husband Ghassan Jarrar said Israel was holding her for political reasons.
“The court didn’t find anything to convict her. Therefore, they referred her to administrative detention where they don’t have to present any specific charges,” he said.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
