Israel releases Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi during truce swap

The 22-year-old became a symbol of resistance for the Palestinians after a video of her slapping an Israeli soldier went viral
Ayan Omar30 November 2023

Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi was among the 30 prisoners freed by Israel on Wednesday as part of the truce deal with Hamas. 

Israel’s prison service posted a list of names on its website, among them Ms Tamimi. They said in a statement: “During the night, 30 male and female security prisoners were released from a number of prison facilities.”

Hamas also released 16 people on Wednesday, including 12 Israeli’s and four Thais that were captured during the attack on 7 October. So far, 210 Palestinian prisoners and 97 captives have been released during the truce.

Ms Tamimi returned home after being released from Damon Prison, near the Israeli city of Haifa, where she was held since her arrest earlier in November.

An Israeli army spokesperson said she was arrested for “inciting terrorism."

Her phone was confiscated during a raid and she was accused of calling for the deaths of settlers in the West Bank in an Instagram post. 

Ms Tamimi’s mother denied the accusations and said the account did not belong to her. She told AFP news agency at the time of her daughter’s arrest: “There are dozens of (online) pages in Ahed’s name with her photos, with which she has no connection.”

The 22-year-old became a symbol of resistance for the Palestinians in 2017 after a video of her slapping an Israeli soldier went viral. She was later sentenced to eight months in prison.

She is one of the dozens of people arrested in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza which more than 15,000 people are reported to have died. 

According to the Palestinian prisoners association, Israel has arrested at least 133 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the humanitarian pause. 

Amany Sarahneh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian prisoners association, told Al Jazeera: "As long as there is occupation, the arrests will not stop. People must understand this because this is a central policy of occupation against Palestinians and to restrict any kind of resistance.”

Ms Tamimi's release comes after it was announced that the truce deal would be extended for another day, minutes before it was due to expire on Thursday morning.

Israel has vowed to continue its campaign to end Hamas despite the growing pressure from the international community to ceasefire.

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