Israel
indicts Palestinian teen activist Ahed Tamimi
1
January, 2018
Bethlehem,
occupied West Bank - Israeli authorities are seeking 12 charges
against Ahed Tamimi, a prominent 16-year-old Palestinian activist
filmed slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers in the occupied West
Bank.
The
teenager was detained on December 19, four days after the video
showing her confronting the soldiers outside her family's home in the
village of Nabi Saleh went viral.
The
incident occurred moments after Israeli forces had shot Ahed's
15-year-old cousin point-blank in the face with a rubber bullet. The
wounded minor experienced severe internal bleeding and was placed
under a medically-induced coma for 72 hours.
Ahed's
20-year-old cousin Nour, who also appeared in the video, as well as
her mother were also arrested soon afterwards.
During
a hearing on Monday at Israel's Ofer military court near Ramallah,
Ahed was charged with 12 counts, including allegedly assaulting an
Israeli soldier, interfering with a soldier's duties and two past
instances of stone-throwing, according to her lawyer Gabi Laski.
Laski
told Al Jazeera that Nariman was also charged with alleged
"incitement" for uploading the video on social media, as
well as another charge of assault.
The
lawyer said that Ahed and Nariman's charges include alleged old
incidents unrelated to the video.
Nour
was charged on Sunday for allegedly assaulting a soldier and
interfering with a soldier's duties, said Laski.
The
Tamimi family are well-known activists in Nabi Saleh.
While
this is the first time Ahed has been detained by Israeli forces,
Nariman has been arrested at least five times before.
On
Thursday, Manal Tamimi, who is related to the women, was also
arrested during a demonstration outside the Ofer detention centre
demanding the release of her relatives and Munther Amira, another
prominent Palestinian activist in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem who
was arrested last week.
Laski
said that she was able to secure the release of Nour and Manal - who
has not been charged with a crime. However, the Israeli army's
prosecutors have until Tuesday to appeal the decision.
Ahed's
father, Bassem, told Al Jazeera that it was very likely his daughter
would be sentenced and imprisoned over the charges.
"They
built the case around her specifically to try to keep her in prison
as long as they can," he said.
"I
am very worried about my daughter," added Bassem, who has also
been arrested numerous times by Israeli forces.
"Her
fate is now in the hands of people who don't even see Palestinians as
full human beings."
Laski
told Al Jazeera that owing to the charges against Ahed, "there's
a possibility of her facing a lot of time".
She
noted that Palestinian teenagers typically face about six-to-nine
months in prison for charges over stone-throwing.
Prisoners'
rights group Addameer has reported that stone-throwing is the most
common charge levied against Palestinian children. In the occupied
West Bank, where Palestinians are governed by Israeli military law,
stone-throwing is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The
group says that Israel routinely targets "the youngest and most
vulnerable" members of politically active Palestinian families
in order to "exert pressure on their family and the entire
community to put an end to all social mobilisation."
Bassem
told Al Jazeera that Israel is attempting to "break Ahed,
because she is a symbol of the resistance".
"Israel
wants to show other young Palestinians what will happen to them if
they try to resist."
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