Israeli authorities release Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi from jail
Tamimi was arrested after a video of her slapping and hitting two Israeli soldiers went viral
NABI SALEH, Occupied West Bank (Lahore Mirror Monitoring Desk)– Israeli authorities have released Palestinian teen activist Ahed Tamimi, who became an icon for Palestinians for freedom movement against illegal occupation, from an Israeli prison after completing an eight month sentence in a case that sparked international condemnation.
Tamimi broke down in tears as an emotional crowd welcomed her in the village of Nabi Saleh on Sunday.
She was released with her mother, Nariman, who also served an eight-month sentence.
Tamimi and her mother were arrested by Israeli forces in December 2017 after a video went viral showing the young woman, then 16, hitting and slapping two armed Israeli soldiers outside her home in Nabi Saleh.
At the time, the teen was reacting to news that her 15-year-old cousin Mohammed had been shot in the face by Israeli forces with a rubber-coated steel bullet earlier in the day, leaving him in critical condition.
Addressing the crowd, Tamimi thanked activists and the media for their support during her prison stay.
“This is a very happy moment for me,” Tamimi’s father, Bassem, told Al Jazeera prior to his daughter’s release. “We have missed them a lot. But I am also worried because the [Israeli] occupation is continuing and still in our lives.”
Bassem’s happiness, however, was overshadowed by a heavy heart, as his 21-year-old son, Waed, remains in Israeli detention since being arrested in an overnight raid on his home in May.
