By Ali Abo Rezeg
ANKARA
Palestinian protest icon Ahed al-Tamimi has been released from Israeli prison after serving an 8-month sentence for slapping an Israeli soldier.
The 17-year-old girl was detained by Israeli forces in December after she was filmed while slapping the soldier during a raid on her home to arrest her brother.
In March, an Israeli court gave the Palestinian girl with an 8-month prison sentence for “attacking” Israeli forces.
Born on January 31, 2001 in the town of Nabi Saleh, west of the West Bank city of Ramallah, al-Tamimi hails from a family known for their struggle against the decades-long Israeli occupation.
Several of her family members, including parents and brothers, have been repeatedly arrested by Israeli forces for their opposition to Israel’s invasion of Palestinian lands.
Her uncle, Rushdie al-Tamimi, was shot dead by Israeli forces in the town of Nabi Saleh in 2012.
Her aunt Bassima al-Tamimi died in 1993 after being beaten to death by an Israeli policeman while attending her son's trial session at the time, according to family sources.
Since her early years, al-Tamimi, a high school student, has attended weekly protests in her town against Israeli occupation and settlement building in the occupied territories.
During these rallies, the Palestinian teenager used to confront and yell at Israeli soldiers in a show of courage against occupation troops.
"Ahed witnessed the daily confrontations and rubber bullets and was affected by the tear gas,” her uncle Naji al-Tamimi told Anadolu Agency in an interview.
“Instead of living a normal childhood, she saw the arrest of her parents and the martyrdom of her uncle and aunt,” he said.
Resistance icon
Al-Tamimi has participated in several pro-Palestine conferences and festivals at home and abroad, most notably in Turkey, France and South Africa.
Ever since her arrest, the Palestinian teenager has turned into a symbol of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.
In support of al-Tamimi, two Italian graffiti artists painted a mural of the Palestinian icon on an Israeli separation wall in the city of Bethlehem.
The two artists, however, were reportedly arrested by Israeli forces over the painting.
As she emerged from Israeli prison on Sunday, a defiant al-Tamimi vowed to continue the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation.
“The Palestinian people will continue their struggle against the Israeli occupation,” al-Tamimi told reporters upon her release.
“The occupation is doomed to end and [Israeli] detention will not break our will,” the 17-year-old teenager added.
In 2012, Istanbul’s Basaksehir Municipality granted al-Tamimi the prestigious Hanzala Courage Award for defying Israeli soldiers who had just arrested her brother.
At the time, then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (the current President of Turkey) and his wife had met the Palestinian girl.
