The Israeli occupation authorities on Sunday released the Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi 17 and her mother Nariman after eight months of imprisonment in Israeli jails.
Ahed and her mother were seen being released from the Israeli Sharon prison on Sunday morning.
The teen was arrested on December 19 2017 after a video went viral on the internet showing Ahed and her cousin slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier while trying to shoot at protesters in Ahed’s hometown of Nabi Saleh in the West Bank.
The teenager and her mother arrived to a festive homecoming in her hometown of Nabi Saleh.
They were driven by Israeli officers from a prison inside Israel to a checkpoint leading to the occupied West Bank where they live. They were expected to arrive at a checkpoint near the Palestinian city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank but the exact checkpoint was changed by Israeli authorities. It soon emerged they were being taken to a crossing in Rantis west of Ramallah.
Tamimi’s family and friends sung songs as they waited for her release at a checkpoint.
Israeli settlers emerged opposite the waiting crowd waving flags on the other side of the road and yelling racist slogans.
Upon her release Ahed and her mother were greeted by supporters and international media. Visibly emotional she smiled waved to friends and embraced her family.
Her father a prominent activist put his arms around his wife and daughter as they walked down the road. A crowd chanted “we want to live in freedom.”
After eight months in Israeli captivity Tamimi was released as a celebrated figure in Palestinian politics amid a period of particular tension along the border.
Tamimi was arrested on December 19 last year days after she was filmed with her cousin Nour Tamimi slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers who refused to leave their home in Nabi Saleh near Ramallah.
Turning 17 in prison Tamimi was denied bail throughout her detention and subsequent trial in an Israeli court where she was tried for assault stone-throwing incitement to violence and making threats.
For Palestinians Tamimi became a hero for standing up to Israeli aggression and invasion of her family home.
Ahed’s case drew international support from high-profile artists actors academics and athletes calling for the teenager’s release.
Ahed who comes from a family of prominent activists made headlines after she was filmed biting the hand of an Israeli soldier trying to arrest her brother. Before that she was photographed defying soldiers in her village.
