Ahed Tamimi, Palestinian viral slap video teenager, freed in Israel
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. 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.
"Resistance is continuing until the occupation is removed," she told the crowd. Speaking to the media later, she said she had resolved "to study law and to focus on holding the occupation accountable". 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.
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".
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