Palestinian teen filmed slapping Israel soldier charged with assault

Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi, 16, is brought into the courtroom inside the Ofer Military Prison in Betunia in the West Bank, on Monday. Ahed was arrested on December 19 after a video surfaced of her slapping Israeli soldiers in her village of Nebi Saleh, West Bank. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI

Jan. 1 (UPI) — An Israeli military court on Monday charged a 16-year-old Palestinian girl with assault after being filmed slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier in the West Bank.

On Dec. 15, Ahed Tamimi was videotaped confronting soldiers outside her family’s home in the village of Nabi Saleh. Moments earlier, Israeli forces shot Ahed’s 15-year-old cousin point-blank in the face with a rubber bullet.

The video was filmed during the activist family’s weekly protest. The soldiers did not respond to the attacks.

The video went viral and she was arrested four days later.

Also arrested were Ahed’s 20-year-old cousin Nour, who also appeared in the video, and her mother, Nariman.

At the Ofer Military Prison in Betunia in the West Bank, the Judea Military Court’s 12 charges for six incidents against Ahed include assault of an Israeli soldier, interfering with a soldier’s duties and two past instances of stone-throwing.

Nariman was charged with alleged “incitement” for uploading the video on social media, as well as another charge of assault.

The military prosecution asked to hold Ahed, Nour and Nariman Tamimi until the end of legal proceedings against them. Only Nour was released.

The women’s lawyer Gabi Laski said Palestinian teenagers typically receive six to nine months in prison for charges of stone-throwing.

“They built the case around her specifically to try to keep her in prison as long as they can,” Ahed’s father, Bassem, told Al Jazeera. “I am very worried about my daughter. Her fate is now in the hands of people who don’t even see Palestinians as full human beings.”

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