Freed Palestinian teen wants to study law to help people
NABI SALEH, West Bank — Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi, who became an international symbol of resistance to Israeli occupation after slapping two soldiers, walked out of an Israeli prison on Sunday and told throngs of journalists and wellwishers that she now wants to study law to defend her people.
The 17-year-old said that “resistance continues until the occupation is removed”. The teen, who is on probation, said her eight months in prison were tough and helped her appreciate life.
Tamimi’s supporters see a brave girl who struck two armed soldiers in frustration after having just learned that Israeli troops seriously wounded a 15-year-old cousin, shooting him in the head from close range with a rubber bullet during nearby stone-throwing clashes.
In Israel, she is seen by many either as a provocateur, an irritation or a threat to the military’s deterrence policy, even as a “terrorist”. Israel has treated her actions as a criminal offense, indicting her on charges of assault and incitement.
In many other places, the prosecution of Tamimi was criticized as a public relations disaster because it turned her into an international icon.
In a sign of her popularity, a pair of Italian artists painted a large mural of her on Israel’s West Bank separation barrier ahead of her release.
Israeli police said they were caught in the act along with a Palestinian and arrested for vandalism. On Sunday, Israel canceled the visas of the two Italians and ordered them to leave the country within three days, police said.
They left Israel on Monday morning. Their lawyer said Israel has barred them for 10 years from entering the country.