Palestinian activist released
Two Italians and a Palestinian arrested for painting mural of protest icon Tamimi
Palestinian protest icon Ahed Tamimi returned home to a hero’s welcome in her West Bank village yesterday after the Israeli regime released the 17-yearold from prison at the end of her eight-month sentence for slapping and kicking Israeli occupation soldiers.
Tamimi and her mother, Nariman Tamimi, were greeted with banners, cheers and Palestinian flags as they entered their home village of Nabi Saleh. She was arrested in December after she slapped two Israeli occupation soldiers outside her family home.
“The resistance continues until the occupation is removed,” Tamimi said upon her return. “All the female prisoners are steadfast. I salute everyone who supported me and my case.”
‘Symbol of struggle’
From her home, Tamimi headed to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. She then met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Abbas called her “a symbol for the Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence. The popular and peaceful style of struggle that Ahed Tamimi and her village and nearby villages have been practicing, proves to the world that our people will remain steadfast in this land, defending it no matter how much needs to be sacrificed,” he said.
In a sign of her popularity, a pair of Italian artists painted a large mural of her on Israel’s West Bank separation wall ahead of her release. On Saturday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested the two Italians and a Palestinian “on suspicion of damaging and vandalising the security fence [separation wall] in the Bethlehem area,” a statement said.
APalestinian teenager released from prison by the Israeli regime a day after completing a sentence for kicking and slapping an Israeli occupation soldier called for Palestinians to continue their struggle against occupation of the West Bank.
Ahed Tamimi, 17, became a heroine to Palestinians after the incident last December outside her home in Nabi Saleh, a village which has campaigned for years against land seizures by Israel, leading to confrontations with Israel’s occupation military and Jewish colonists.
Tamimi, who was 16 at the time of her detention, faced 12 charges, including aggravated assault. In March, she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge sheet that included assault and was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, dating back to her arrest in December.
Wearing her trademark black-and-white keffiyeh, Tamimi greeted dozens of wellwishers in brief remarks outside the home of a Nabi Saleh villager killed by Israeli occupation forces.
“From this martyr’s house, I say: Resistance is continuing until the occupation is removed,” she told reporters. “All the female prisoners in jail are strong, and I thank everyone who stood by me while I was in prison.”
From her home, Tamimi headed to a visit to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. She laid a wreath and recited a prayer from the Quran, and was then taken with her family to a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in Ramallah.
Abbas, after meeting Ahed yesterday, called her “a symbol for the Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence.”
“The popular and peaceful style of struggle that Ahed Tamimi and her village and nearby villages have been practicing, proves to the world that our people will remain steadfast in this land, defending it no matter how much needs to be sacrificed,” he said.
Palestinians want the West Bank for a future state, along with occupied East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Most countries consider Israeli colonies in the West Bank to be illegal, something Israel disputes.
Tamimi’s case drew global attention and Amnesty International said after her conviction that her sentence was at odds with international law, saying imprisonment of a minor must be used only as a last resort for the shortest appropriate period of time.
Tamimi’s scuffle with the two soldiers took place December 15 in Nabi Saleh, which is home to about 600 members of her extended clan.
Her father, Bassam Tamimi, said he expects her to take a lead in the struggle against Israeli occupation but she is also weighing college options.
He said she completed her high school exams in prison with the help of other prisoners who taught the required material.
He said she initially hoped to attend a West Bank university but has also received scholarship offers from abroad.
Since 2009, residents of Nabi Salah have staged regular antioccupation protests that often ended with stone-throwing clashes.
Ahed has participated in such marches from a young age, and has had several highly publicised run-ins with occupation soldiers. One photo shows the then 12-year-old raising a clenched fist towards a soldier towering over her.
From this martyr’s house, I say: Resistance is continuing until the occupation is removed. All the female prisoners in jail are strong, and I thank everyone who stood by me.”
Ahed Tamimi | Palestinian activist
300 minors being held
Tamimi’s case has trained a spotlight on the detention of Palestinian minors by Israel, a practice that has been criticised by international rights groups. Some 300 minors are currently being held, according to Palestinian figures.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces arrested two Italians for drawing a giant mural of the Palestinian on the separation wall in the occupied West Bank, police said.
The roughly four-metre image near Bethlehem in the West Bank depicts Tamimi.
On Saturday, the Israeli regime arrested two Italians and a Palestinian “on suspicion of damaging and vandalising the security fence [separation barrier] in the Bethlehem area,” a statement said.