Palestinian protest icon released from jail
NABISALEH ( WEST BANK ): Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi left prison Sunday and was greeted by crowds of supporters after serving eight months for slapping Israeli soldiers, an episode that made her a symbol of resistance for Palestinians.
Tamimi, 17, and her mother Nariman, who was also jailed over the incident, arrived in their village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank, where they were mobbed by journalists.
Easily recognisable by her shock of reddish hair, Tamimi wore a Palestinian-style keffiyeh around her neck, at times appearing relaxed but at other moments overwhelmed as television cameras followed her.
“The resistance continues until the fall of the occupation, and of course the (female) prisoners in jail are all strong,” Ahed Tamimi said.
“I thank everyone who supported me in this sentence and supports all the prisoners.”
Her father Bassem put his arms around Ahed and her mother as they walked together along a road, while a crowd of around 100 chanted “we want to live in freedom”.
At a press conference later at a square in the village, Tamimi sat at a table behind a forest of microphones, a translator providing an English version of her remarks.
She said she planned to study law to hold Israel’s occupation accountable.
“Of course I am very happy that I came back to my family, but that happiness is partial because of the prisoners who are still in prison,” she said.
Both Tamimi and her mother were sentenced to eight months by an Israeli military court following a plea deal over the December incident, which the family said took place in their garden in Nabi Saleh.
Video filmed by Tamimi’s mother of the December incident went viral, leading Palestinians to view the teen as a hero standing up to Israel’s occupation. But for Israelis, Tamimi is being used by her activist family as a pawn in staged provocations.