Palestinian teenage protest icon freed from jail

World
Europe

02:14

A Palestinian teenager, who has become a symbol of resistance after being arrested last year for kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier, was released from prison on Sunday.

Ahed Tamimi, 17, became a hero to Palestinians after the incident last December outside her home in Nabi Saleh, a West Bank village that has for years campaigned against land seizures by Israel, leading to confrontations with the Israeli military and Jewish settlers.

Israelis regarded the incident, which Tamimi's mother Nariman relayed live on Facebook, as a staged provocation. Nariman was also jailed over the incident.

Greeted by crowds of supporters and journalists on Sunday after completing her jail sentence, Tamimi urged continued struggle against Israel's occupation.

"Of course I am very happy that I came back to my family, but that happiness is partial because of the prisoners who are still in prison," she said.

She added she wanted to become a lawyer so she could continue her struggle against the occupation of the West Bank.

A woman takes a photo of a mural of jailed Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi on the separation barrier in Bethlehem, West Bank, July 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

Tamimi also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who described her as "a model of peaceful civil resistance... proving to the world that our Palestinian people will stand firm and constant on their land, no matter what the sacrifice."

Tamimi, who was 16 at the time of her detention last December, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge sheet that included assault. Both she and her mother were sentenced to eight months by an Israeli military court.

In the video of the December incident, which went viral, Tamimi and her cousin can be seen telling soldiers to leave, before shoving, kicking and slapping them.

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

The scuffle took place amid clashes and protests against US President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Palestinians want the West Bank for a future state, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Most countries consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal, something Israel disputes.

(Top picture: Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi is welcomed home at the entrance of Nabi Salih village, Ramallah, West Bank, July 29, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters