Third Palestinian woman arrested over soldier slapping video

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Israeli forces arrested a third Palestinian woman yesterday in connection with a viral video showing Israeli soldiers being slapped in the occupied West Bank.

Soldiers arrested Nour Naji Tamimi, 21, from the village of Nabi Saleh north of Ramallah in the West Bank, residents said.

Cousin Ahed Tamimi, 17, a well-known campaigner against Israel’s occupation, was arrested on Tuesday along with her mother.

The video shot last Friday, apparently with a mobile telephone, showed two Palestinian girls approaching two Israeli soldiers, before shoving, kicking and slapping them while filming on mobile phones.

The heavily armed soldiers do not respond in the face of what appears to be an attempt to provoke rather than seriously harm them. They then move backwards.

The army confirmed it had made a third arrest.

The cousin is expected to be brought before an Israeli military court on Wednesday.

The video appears to have been filmed on the steps of the Tamimi house, during a day of protests against US President Donald Trump’s controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

It has been widely picked up by Israeli media, which often accuse Palestinian protesters of seeking to provoke the army into responses which are then filmed.

Israeli politicians hailed the restraint of the soldiers as evidence of the military’s values.

Palestinians on social media criticised Ahed’s arrest in the middle of the night, arguing it is the people’s right to resist military occupation.

A member of the Tamimi family was shot in the head with a rubber bullet during protests on Friday, the family said. — AFP