Ahed Tamimi: Palestinian teenage protester freed from jail after eight-month sentence for assaulting soldiers

Ahed Tamimi received a hero's welcome in her home village of Nabi Saleh
REUTERS
Tom Powell29 July 2018

A Palestinian teenager who became an international symbol of the resistance against Israeli occupation after assaulting soldiers has walked freed from jail.

Ahed Tamimi, 17, returned to her home in the West Bank on Sunday after serving an eight-month sentence for slapping and kicking Israeli soldiers .

She became a symbolic figure for Palestinians after footage of her assaulting the soldiers outside her home went viral.

But she was jailed for assault, with many Israelis believing she was trying to provoke the soldiers while her mother Nariman Tamimi filmed.

On Sunday, Ahed and her mother were greeted with banners, cheers and Palestinian flags as they entered their home village of Nabi Saleh.

"The resistance continues until the occupation is removed," Ahed said upon her return. "All the female prisoners are steadfast. I salute everyone who supported me and my case."

"I will continue this path and I hope everyone will," she said. "The prisoners are fine and we hope the struggle for their release continues."

A mural of Ahed Tamimi was painted on the West Bank separation barrier
AFP/Getty Images

Her father, Bassem 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 anti-occupation 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 soldiers.

Israeli Cabinet minister Uri Ariel said the Tamimi case highlighted what could happen if Israel lets its guard down.

"I think Israel acts too mercifully with these types of terrorists. Israel should treat harshly those who hit its soldiers," he told The Associated Press. "We can't have a situation where there is no deterrence. Lack of deterrence leads to the reality we see now ... we must change that."

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