The 22-year-old Palestinian icon is arrested during another night of Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces arrested Ahed Tamimi, a 22-year-old prominent Palestinian activist, for “incitement to terrorism.”
They announced the arrest on Monday following a new series of night raids and fighting in the occupied West Bank. Violence has spread across the territory since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas last month.
Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi reported multiple Israeli army raids across the West Bank, including in the village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, where Ahed Tamimi was arrested.
The activist “was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence and terrorist activities,” said an army spokesperson. “Tamimi was transferred to Israeli security forces for further questioning. »
Nariman Tamimi, the activist’s mother, told Anadolu news agency that Israeli forces searched the house and confiscated family members’ cell phones. His father Bassem Tamimi was arrested by Israeli forces during a raid in the city last week, with no information on his whereabouts.
Israeli media reported that Ahed Tamimi called for the killing of settlers in the West Bank in an Instagram post. An Israeli security source shared the alleged Instagram post with AFP when asked about the reason for his arrest.
However, Nariman denied that his daughter wrote the message. “There are dozens of pages (online) in Ahed’s name with her photo, which she has no connection with,” she said.
The Israeli army celebrated Ahed Tamimi’s arrest by posting a photo on Facebook and asking: “Where is his smile now?”
Family of activists
Tamimi and his family members are well-known activists and have led Nabi Saleh’s nonviolent resistance for nearly a decade.
His father was arrested several times by Israeli forces and spent at least four years in prison.
Ahed Tamimi has become an icon of Palestinian resistance since a video of her confrontation in 2012 with an Israeli soldier, who arrived at the family home to arrest her brother, went viral.
She had already been arrested by the Israeli army in December 2017 following new clashes, alongside her mother and her cousin Nour, 20 years old.
Charged with 12 counts, including assault, incitement and stone-throwing in the past, she was jailed for eight months.
Night raids
Ahed Tamimi’s arrest came amid another night of Israeli raids and fighting in the occupied West Bank, with occupying forces intensifying their nighttime raids on Palestinian homes, villages and towns in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. -East.
From Ramallah, Basravi said the night had been turbulent, with several West Bank towns witnessing raids and open clashes between the army and armed Palestinian fighters. The images showed destroyed roads and cars.
In the Shuafat refugee camp, one of the most significant military raids took place. It is known to be home to several Palestinian armed groups. The Israeli army arrested a Palestinian Authority (PA) government advisor and Fatah member Rafat Alian was arrested during a live interview.
Israel has arrested around 1,740 Palestinians in nighttime raids in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7.
Most are detained under laws and military orders that allow detention without trial or charge.