Ahed Tamimi, renowned 17-year-old Palestinian resister, freed from Israeli prison after eight months
“This
is a day of relief, which we hope will blossom into happiness once
this brutal military occupation is out of our lives. … I call on
members of the international community to uphold their responsibility
towards our people and take concrete steps to end this perpetual
injustice.”
—
Bassem Tamimi on
Daughter Ahed’s Release from Prison
by
Emma Fiala
Bassem
Tamimi told the Anadolu Agency earlier this week that he expected his
17-year-old daughter to be released from an Israeli prison on Sunday,
July 29. Bassem’s prediction came true when, 21 days short of
fulfilling her eight-month jail term, Ahed Tamimi walked free.
Bassem
had this to say of his daughter’s release: “This is a day of
relief, which we hope will blossom into happiness once this brutal
military occupation is out of our lives.”
Prison
spokesperson, Assaf Librati, told AFP that Ahed and her mother,
Nariman, “just left the prison” and were being driven to a
checkpoint that leads to the occupied West Bank.
Ahed and
Nariman were each sentenced to eight months in prison on similar
charges after Nariman’s video of her daughter and cousin driving
Israeli soldiers off their land in the Palestinian village of Nabi
Saleh in the occupied West Bank went viral. In the video Ahed can be
seen shoving and slapping the two Israeli soldiers on her family’s
property on December 15, 2017. As seen in the video, the soldiers,
armed with assault rifles, were easily able to ward off Ahed’s
slaps and kicks.
Ahed was
convicted of incitement, aggravated assault, and obstructing soldiers
after her December 19 arrest.
The
17-year-old has since become a symbol of Palestinian resistance
across Palestine and the world.
While
Ahed and her mother are now free and headed home, Ahed’s brother
Wa’ed remains in prison for suspected involvement in terror
attacks. 22-year-old Wa’ed was arrested in May during a nighttime
raid. Bassam Tamimi said: “My son is still in Israeli prison for
the duration of military court proceedings against him, which is a
reminder that Israel’s occupation is always seeking to punish us
because our existence contradicts the existence of the occupation.
And so, I call on members of the international community to uphold
their responsibility towards our people and take concrete steps to
end this perpetual injustice.”
Leading
up to Ahed’s Sunday release, Israeli forces closed the entrance
gate to the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, the Tamimis’ home in
the occupied West Bank earlier this week. According to locals,
occupation forces “forcefully” prevented residents of Nabi Saleh
from entering or leaving their village.
While
the village is relatively small relative to other West Bank villages,
it is the site of weekly anti-occupation demonstrations that have
garnered media attention over the years.
CodePink
created an online card welcoming Ahed and Nariman home. Two Italian
artists have painted a large mural of Ahed on the apartheid wall in
Bethlehem in the West Bank. The two have since been arrested by
Israeli authorities.
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