Israel’s military says a teenage Palestinian girl, who is being hailed as a “national hero” could face up to 14 years in prison after being indicted for allegedly assaulting a pair of Israeli soldiers outside her home.
Ahed Tamimi, 16, was charged this week by an Israeli military court after she was filmed in December pushing and slapping Israeli soldiers, New Arab reported.
Her father said the girl was upset after her 15-year-old cousin was shot in the head with a rubber bullet.
The widely shared video turned Tamimi into a Palestinian hero. In Israel, the footage sparked debate about the soldiers’ refusal to act.
Her lawyer, Gaby Lasky, said on Wednesday she doubts such a sentence is likely. She said sentencing for such an offence is usually “much, much lighter.”
Tamimi has been lauded as a hero by Palestinians after the December video went viral. The video appears to have been filmed next to the Tamimi house in Nabi Saleh near Ramallah.
The footage shows Tamimi and her cousin approaching two Israeli soldiers and telling them to leave before shoving, kicking and slapping them. The heavily armed soldiers do not respond in the face of what appears to be an attempt to provoke rather than seriously harm them.
They then move backwards after Tamimi’s mother Nariman gets involved.
The incident occurred during a day of clashes across the West Bank against US President Donald Trump’s controversial recognition of Beit-ul-Moqaddas as Israel’s capital.
