Israel indicts Palestinian teenage girl who punched soldier - army

[webfact]

Israel indicts Palestinian teenage girl who punched soldier - army

By Ali Sawafta

 

Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi (R) enters a military courtroom escorted by Israeli Prison Service personnel at Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, January 1, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

 

OFER PRISON, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel indicted a 16-year-old Palestinian girl on Monday on charges including assault for punching an Israeli soldier in the face two weeks ago, an incident which made her into a hero for Palestinians and was seen as humiliating by right-wing Israelis.

 

Israel has held Ahed Tamimi since arresting her three days after she was filmed punching the soldier at the entrance to her family home in a village in the occupied West Bank. The confrontation took place after what Israel says was a stone-throwing assault on its troops.

 

The case has made her into such a potent symbol for Palestinians that a commentator in Israeli left-wing newspaper Haaretz said Israel risked turning her into the "Palestinian Joan of Arc".

 

Right-wing Israelis, meanwhile, have debated whether the soldier had appeared weak by opting not to strike back. The Israeli army said he "acted professionally" by showing restraint.

 

The charge sheet against Tamimi, seen by Reuters, included counts of aggravated assault against a soldier, who the army said was bruised on his brow by her punch, obstructing a soldier in the performance of his duty and throwing stones at troops.

 

"Tamimi threw stones at them (the soldiers), threatened them, obstructed them in fulfilling their duty, took part in riots and incited others to take part in them," the military said on its public affairs Twitter account.

 

Qadoura Fares, chairman of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, which advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli jails, said the charges were false.

 

"Their aim is to terrorise people, and they are trying to deter children and others,” he said.

 

Tamimi's lawyer, Gaby Lasky, said she was certain some of the charges would eventually be dismissed, but nonetheless prosecutors may seek the maximum penalty for other counts.

 

"I am sure they want to keep her as long as possible because they don't want the voice of resistance outside prison," Lasky told Reuters at the military courtroom in Ofer prison near the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

 

Tamimi was not asked to enter a plea at this stage. The military court gave her lawyer more time to study the charges.

 

An adult found guilty of assaulting a soldier could be jailed for up to 10 years, but such an outcome would be unlikely for Tamimi as a minor.

 

The incident occurred at the entrance to Tamimi’s family home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, where weekly protests against Israeli settlement policy have been held for years. Tamimi's father is a prominent Palestinian activist.

 

Tamimi made news two years ago when she was pictured biting a soldier who tried to arrest her younger brother. In 2012 she was presented with an award in Turkey and met its president, Tayyip Erdogan, after images of her confronting an Israeli soldier went viral.

 

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Edtitng by Peter Graff)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-02

[tifino]

with a Grand Slam Glam like hers! 

I can see Palestine fielding the world's latest tennis champ

 

... she's got the balls for it

[meinphuket]

Anyone, be that Palestinians or Israelis,  hitting another person is not fit to roam freely, and should be locked up. 

[ezzra]

One nation's hero is another's terrorist....( if not counting Israeli's far left bleeding liberals) When you look at this woman picture, you're actually looking at a miracle, by all accounts she should have been laying in the morgue somewhere

with a bunch of bullets in her, but for the restrains of the soldiers she was not shot at as standing orders....

 

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been removed.   Please read the OP and post accordingly.  

[JingerBen]

The Israelis are making another Big Mistake.

They are creating a poster girl for the Palestinian cause.

This spunky little hellcat will nullify a ton of hasbara propaganda.

[sanemax]

12 minutes ago, JingerBen said:

The Israelis are making another Big Mistake.

They are creating a poster girl for the Palestinian cause.

This spunky little hellcat will nullify a ton of hasbara propaganda.

What do you suggest that Israels policy should be ?

Should Israel make it legal for pretty young girls to attack other people ?

Or should Israel disregard the laws about violent attacks in the situation where pretty young girls carry out the attacks ?

[JingerBen]

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

What do you suggest that Israels policy should be ?

Should Israel make it legal for pretty young girls to attack other people ?

Or should Israel disregard the laws about violent attacks in the situation where pretty young girls carry out the attacks ?

This is a PR disaster in the making for Israel no matter how you try to spin it.

[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, JingerBen said:

This is a PR disaster in the making for Israel no matter how you try to spin it.

You did claim that Israel were making a mistake and I asked you what they should have done .

Whether this is a PR disaster nor not, is bedsides the point .

If Israel made a mistake , then, what do you think that they should have done, in order not to have made a mistake ?

[Orton Rd]

shave her hair off and make her scrub floors for a few weeks

[Srikcir]

Ahed Tamimi - the future Prime Minister of the State of Palestine?

 

[abrahamzvi]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

You did claim that Israel were making a mistake and I asked you what they should have done .

Whether this is a PR disaster nor not, is bedsides the point .

If Israel made a mistake , then, what do you think that they should have done, in order not to have made a mistake ?

Israel should punish her in a lighter manner. There are other ways of doing this, such as house arrest, social work and the like. 

 

I must compliment the soldiers who won respect for the moral standard of Israeli soldiers.

 

By the way, from the FB photos, it doesn't look like stones were being thrown by the girl, or that she was taking part in an unauthorized demonstrations. Where in her yard?

 

One thing Israel should be aware of is that by punishing this girl in a hard manner, they will not be deterring other Arab youngsters from acting similarly. To the contrary, they would feel they would become martyrs if they follow her actions and be punished by the Israelis.

[abrahamzvi]

10 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Ahed Tamimi - the future Prime Minister of the State of Palestine?

 

No, but a Jean d'Arc of the Palestinian movement. And that could have quite negative results.

[tifino]

2 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

shave her hair off and make her scrub floors for a few weeks

I reckon she'd scrub up rather well!

[Morch]

3 hours ago, JingerBen said:

The Israelis are making another Big Mistake.

They are creating a poster girl for the Palestinian cause.

This spunky little hellcat will nullify a ton of hasbara propaganda.

 

There are several Israeli views and reactions detailed in the OP.

[JingerBen]

3 hours ago, JingerBen said:

The Israelis are making another Big Mistake.

They are creating a poster girl for the Palestinian cause.

This spunky little hellcat will nullify a ton of hasbara propaganda.

 

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

Ahed Tamimi - the future Prime Minister of the State of Palestine?

 

 

56 minutes ago, abrahamzvi said:

No, but a Jean d'Arc of the Palestinian movement. And that could have quite negative results.

That's exactly my point.

But for the majority of the people in the world who want to see a free and independent Palestine the results won't be negative at all.

Quite the opposite as a matter of fact.

[Morch]

3 hours ago, sanemax said:

You did claim that Israel were making a mistake and I asked you what they should have done .

Whether this is a PR disaster nor not, is bedsides the point .

If Israel made a mistake , then, what do you think that they should have done, in order not to have made a mistake ?

 

That incident being a PR disaster is pretty much the point.

 

That it could have been handled better, is a fact, as the initial reaction of the soldiers indicates. Blowing it out of proportion plays straight to the Palestinians' hands, and makes sure it will be milked for every bit of PR value it represents. Letting it go, going for a lighter punishment, delaying legal action or avoiding the media circus would have been smarter.

 

The only reason this got to be a "thing" was Israeli right wing politicians using the images to batter IDF command and the politically embattled  Netanyahu, pandering to their base. Not the first such instance.

Edited January 2, 2018 by Morch

[Morch]

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

Ahed Tamimi - the future Prime Minister of the State of Palestine?

 

 

Unlikely unless one is into nonsense one-liners.

Palestinian society is not particularly open for women in positions of leadership.

[Old Croc]

This girl has been using her gender and age for years to get away with assaulting soldiers. A web search shows her raising fists at, and trying to incite, Israelis from about the age of 12. There is a video of her biting a soldier attempting to arrest a stone thrower. In the current incident she kicked this man before slapping him across the face.

She has led demonstrations, and is a stone thrower, as is her whole family.

The likes of Abbas  and the Turkish dictator, rather than sending her home to finish school, have awarded and encouraged her behavior. 

Incidentally, many believe, and there is some evidence, she is actually 18yo based on pictures taken 5 years ago when she was 13. However, it makes for better press to pretend she's 16. They often use photos of her as a child to garner sympathy.  Look at recent photos and judge for yourself.

 

[F4UCorsair]

7 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

That incident being a PR disaster is pretty much the point.

 

That it could have been handled better, is a fact, as the initial reaction of the soldiers indicates. Blowing it out of proportion plays straight to the Palestinians' hands, and makes sure it will be milked for every bit of PR value it represents. Letting it go, going for a lighter punishment, delaying legal action or avoiding the media circus would have been smarter.

 

The only reason this got to be a "thing" was Israeli right wing politicians using the images to batter IDF command and the politically embattled  Netanyahu, pandering to their base. Not the first such instance.

 

Netanhayu can do as he chooses, and belting the hell out of a girl who whacked one of his soldiers is appropriate in my eyes.

 

I don't understand ther palestinians continuing to throw rocks at a power that has sophisticated weapons.   It reminds me of when I played rugby as a young guy.   I had more guts than ability, and threw  a few punches at far bigger uys.   After a couple of broken noses, I saw the light, and realized I would be the loser if I continued.   The Palestinians should do the same, because there is only one way it will end for them, badly.

Edited January 2, 2018 by F4UCorsair

[Morch]

1 hour ago, abrahamzvi said:

No, but a Jean d'Arc of the Palestinian movement. And that could have quite negative results.

 

The same was said of her relative, Ahlam.

 

[Old Croc]

16yo ?

 

??

[Morch]

7 minutes ago, F4UCorsair said:

 

Netanhayu can do as he chooses, and belting the hell out of a girl who whacked one of his soldiers is appropriate in my eyes.

 

I don't understand ther palestinians continuing to throw rocks at a power that has sophisticated weapons.   It reminds me of when I played rugby as a young guy.   I had more guts than ability, and threw  a few punches at far bigger uys.   After a couple of broken noses, I saw the light, and realized I would be the loser if I continued.   The Palestinians should do the same, because there is only one way it will end for them, badly.

 

Once more - this is not something which was spearheaded by Netanyahu, but rather by his political partners (and future rivals) from the right. Other than that, the girl will not be "belted" and not only the soldiers aren't "his soldiers" but their reaction was more in line with what's expected under such circumstances.   

 

 

[JingerBen]

1 minute ago, Morch said:

 

May want to get a clue as to the differences in status between their respective backgrounds, before making inane comments. Generally speaking, women rights and social standing in India are not much of an inspiration.

It's not an inane comment, it's to the point.

Anything is possible in the future for the Middle East - including a woman leader of Palestine.

 

[metisdead]

Off topic trolling posts and replies have been removed. 

[Morch]

1 minute ago, JingerBen said:

It's not an inane comment, it's to the point.

Anything is possible in the future for the Middle East - including a woman leader of Palestine.

 

 

Would be helpful if you could support such assertions with anything indicating relevant trends in the Middle East. Are there many examples of women in effective positions of political power and leadership? Are women rights issues improving?

 

 

 

[JingerBen]

11 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Would be helpful if you could support such assertions with anything indicating relevant trends in the Middle East. Are there many examples of women in effective positions of political power and leadership? Are women rights issues improving?

 

 

 

Those same questions could have been asked in India and Pakistan before the rise of Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto.

[Sir Dude]

The Israeli soldiers showed restraint here and her motives for doing this could easily be construed as self-serving given her track record. 

[Morch]

6 minutes ago, JingerBen said:

Those same questions could have been asked in India and Pakistan before the rise of Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto.

 

Once more - are you quite aware of the differences in background between these two leaders and the girl in the OP? Can you cite anything, other than irrelevant namedropping, as support for your assertions?

[JingerBen]

8 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Once more - are you quite aware of the differences in background between these two leaders and the girl in the OP? Can you cite anything, other than irrelevant namedropping, as support for your assertions?

Give her a few more years... you never know.

Edited January 2, 2018 by JingerBen