Soldier-abusing Palestinian teen said she 'may be a martyr'
Ahed Tamimi, 16, who was arrested for physically assaulting two IDF soldiers, told her family ‘many Palestinian martyrs had fallen for their people. Maybe I will be one of them'; father claims IDF soldiers 'cruelly' confiscated electronics from their home, wounded his child.
The 16-year-old Palestinians girl who was arrested overnight Monday after being filmed, along with other Palestinian girls, provoking and beating Israeli soldiers during protests in the Palestinian village of Nabi Salih said that “maybe I would like to be a martyr.”
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Ahed Tamimi, who will remain in custody until Thursday, the police announced Tuesday, was caught on camera with her cousin repeatedly assaulting two IDF soldiers as her mother Nariman intervened and confronted the soldiers. Nariman was also arrested for her involvement.
Bassem Tamimi, Ahed's father, claimed in an interview with Ynet that “the occupation forces from the Border Police behaved cruelly and used violence. They carried out searches in our home and caused damage, they confiscated computers, cellphones, cameras and every other electronic device. They hit the children afterwards and forcefully took their phones.”
Bassem also insisted that the arrest had taken place in the aftermath of media incitement which he said caused a public interest in Israeli society.
“Yesterday, I saw in the Israeli media that people were calling to demonstrate against Ahed in the streets of Tel Aviv, after they tried to describe the dangerous soldier as a victim of Ahed’s actions,” Bassem said. “It is important to point out here that this soldier was present in the compound of our home.”
In the video that surfaced Monday, the Palestinian girls can be seen aggressively provoking IDF soldiers. Despite the fact that the provocation became quite physical, the soldiers maintained their composure and did not respond.
“Before the incident, a soldier threw a tear grenade at our house which broke the door and we could hardly breath,” the father claimed.
“There is more than one witness that can testify against him. Before that, the same soldier shot a rubber bullet at point blank range at Mohammad Tamimi and wounded him in his face. He is still being treated at the intensive care unit in Ramallah and has undergone serious surgery.”
A family relative said that Ahed would often express a desire to die as a martyr. “She would say ‘I am not scared of them arresting me or killing me. I am struggling for the Palestinian people. Many martyrs have fallen and they deserve a lot. Maybe there will be more martyrs and I will be one of them.’”
