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Ahed Tamimi, Palestinian viral slap video teenager, freed in Israel | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A Palestinian teenager who was filmed assaulting an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank has been freed after eight months in jail. | |
Video showing Ahed Tamimi slapping and kicking the soldier outside her home in Nabi Saleh last year went viral. | Video showing Ahed Tamimi slapping and kicking the soldier outside her home in Nabi Saleh last year went viral. |
For Palestinians, she became a symbol of resistance to Israeli occupation, but many Israelis see her as a publicity-seeking troublemaker. | |
The 17-year-old was mobbed by well-wishers as she returned to her town. | The 17-year-old was mobbed by well-wishers as she returned to her town. |
"Resistance is continuing until the occupation is removed," she told the crowd. | "Resistance is continuing until the occupation is removed," she told the crowd. |
Sixteen at the time, she was originally charged with 12 counts of assault, incitement, interference with soldiers and stone throwing. | |
In March, she agreed to plead guilty to four of the charges, including incitement and assault. | In March, she agreed to plead guilty to four of the charges, including incitement and assault. |
The day before Ahed Tamimi was released, two Italians were arrested for drawing a 4m (13ft) mural of the teenager's face on the wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. | |
Israeli border police said the two Italian men, and a Palestinian who was also arrested, were suspected of "damaging and vandalising the security fence in the Bethlehem area". | |
The group then allegedly tried to flee when confronted by police. | |
Last Wednesday, one of the men identified himself as Italian street artist Jorit Agoch, news agency AFP said. | |
How did the incident go viral? | |
Ahed Tamimi was filmed by her mother, Nariman, shouting at and shoving two soldiers in the driveway of her family home on 15 December 2017. | Ahed Tamimi was filmed by her mother, Nariman, shouting at and shoving two soldiers in the driveway of her family home on 15 December 2017. |
The incident was streamed on Nariman Tamimi's Facebook page and video of the confrontation was widely viewed. | The incident was streamed on Nariman Tamimi's Facebook page and video of the confrontation was widely viewed. |
In the footage she kicks one soldier and slaps his face, and threatens to punch the other. | In the footage she kicks one soldier and slaps his face, and threatens to punch the other. |
Ahed Tamimi told a pre-trial hearing that she had lashed out at the soldiers because she had seen them shoot her 15-year-old cousin Mohammed in the head with a rubber bullet that same day. | Ahed Tamimi told a pre-trial hearing that she had lashed out at the soldiers because she had seen them shoot her 15-year-old cousin Mohammed in the head with a rubber bullet that same day. |
The Israeli military said it had dispatched the soldiers to the Tamimis' home, where Palestinian youths had been throwing stones at troops sent to quell violent protests. | |
It also later contested the cause of Mohammed's head injury, saying last month that the boy had told interrogators he sustained it from falling off a bike. | |
What was the fallout? | |
Ahed Tamimi's case sparked an outpouring of deeply opposing views between Israelis and Palestinians. | Ahed Tamimi's case sparked an outpouring of deeply opposing views between Israelis and Palestinians. |
Many Israelis say Ahed Tamimi has long been exploited by her family, who they accuse of using her to try to provoke Israeli soldiers on film. | Many Israelis say Ahed Tamimi has long been exploited by her family, who they accuse of using her to try to provoke Israeli soldiers on film. |
Her mother was also charged with incitement on social media and assault, while her cousin Nour, who participated in the incident, was charged with assault. | Her mother was also charged with incitement on social media and assault, while her cousin Nour, who participated in the incident, was charged with assault. |
Israel's Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Ahed and Nour Tamimi deserved to "finish their lives in prison". | |
For Palestinians, Ahed Tamimi has become a national icon for what they see as acts of bravery in standing up to armed soldiers on occupied land. | |
Her face has appeared on street murals and posters, while an online petition organised by her father calling for her release gathered 1.7m signatures. | Her face has appeared on street murals and posters, while an online petition organised by her father calling for her release gathered 1.7m signatures. |