Why You Should Know Everything About Ahed Tamimi

Ahed Tamimi is a 16-year-old Palestinian who slapped an Israeli soldier. The video of her doing so went viral and she became a symbol of resistance. Subsequently, she was detained and arrested.

Tamimi slapped the soldier because she was expressing her discomfort at the fact that soldiers had parked themselves on her family’s land. Israeli forces had shot her cousin point-blank in the face with a rubber bullet. The slapping incident occurred moments after Ahed’s cousin was shot. In the video she is seen confronting the soldier. Her mother and her 20-year-old cousin were also seen in the video, and have been detained.

She is facing 12 charges for her current and previous activism. Her lawyer said that she is facing ‘incitement’ for uploading the video on social media and another charge of assault. Her father believes that it is likely she will be sentenced and imprisoned. She may face a lot of time in prison.

Her indictment has led to a huge uproar on social media. The hashtag #IAmAhed and #FreeAhedTamimi have become popular.

I love the expression on Ahed Tamimi's face! It's as if she's saying, "Please, there's nothing that can be said or done that will make me bend my will for no one nor break me. Just watch me, you'll see!" I am incredibly impressed by her fire inside of her spirit! #FreeAhedTamimi pic.twitter.com/xFi5FAB2Nm

— Rebel Cage Rattler (@thecagerattler) January 4, 2018

“I don’t want to be perceived as a victim, and I won’t give their actions the power to define who I am and what I’ll be. We don’t want you to support us because of some photogenic tears, but because we chose the struggle and our struggle is just.” - Ahed Tamimi#FreeAhedTamimi pic.twitter.com/YvaV438H6x

— #FreeAhedTamimi (@AlTamimiAhed) December 30, 2017

"When an unarmed child is prosecuted for slapping a larger grown man in army gear equipped with a gun, it’s time to ask questions." #iamAhedhttps://t.co/FvHJtEBxPl

— Fior3 (@FIOR3) January 5, 2018

Her cousin spent 70 hours in coma and half of his face is now disfigured because of the situation.

She comes from a well-known activist family. Her village, Nebi Saleh has 600 people and most of them are members of her extended family. For eight years they have protested against Israeli policies in the West Bank. On Friday, these protests turned violent, and 200 Palestinians started throwing stones at soldiers.

Ahed's father praised her for her courage. "We hope that this generation will be stronger than us, and can take the flag from us with more power ... and more serious resistance to end the occupation," said Tamimi, 50, who spent more than four years in nine different stints in Israeli jails for anti-occupation protests,” he said.

Source: Haaretz

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