Eloz Azaria served 9 months for murdering an unconscious prisoner
We should of course rejoice that Ahed Tamimi, who
was only 16 when she slapped
an armed soldier who invaded the grounds of her house, after shooting her
cousin in the head at point blank range, has been released. But we should never forget that the Kahanist
soldier Elor Azaria, an army medic no less, served just 9 months in
prison.
Elor Azaria, a supporter of the Israeli far-Right was treated as a hero by Israel's public |
Sentenced to 18 months Azaria had his sentence successively
reduced to just one month more than Ahed’s.
If it wasn’t for the cameras distributed by B’tselem then he would not
have served any time as his crime was not reported by fellow soldiers.
When Ahed applied in June for parole this was refused
because she was a ‘danger’ to the Zionist occupiers. Yes she is a danger but not a physical danger
but a political danger. If anyone is in danger of reprisals it is Ahed.
It's difficult to believe this idiot is not only an Israeli government minister but was Israeli Ambassador to the UN |
She was subject to vicious attacks and threats by
the Zionists, some ludicrous some sinister.
She was accused of not being part of a real
family by former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Michael Oren, because he
alleged her parents dressed her up in Western clothes and because he couldn’t
handle her white complexion. Apparently an investigation had been conducted
into the Tamimi family two years before based on these racist stereotypes of
what Palestinian families should look like.
Ben Caspit, a well known journalist encouraged
sexual attacks and rape against her when he wrote in an
article (Hebrew) that “In the case of the girls, we should
exact a price at some other opportunity, in the dark, without witnesses and
cameras”,
Ahed’s case should be used to publicise the plight of ALL Palestinian children
in captivity in Israel.
Tony Greenstein
Ahed Tamimi and her mother Nariman are released after eight months behind bars for slapping an Israeli soldier. |
By Oren Ziv, +972 Magazine
Ahed Tamimi, who spent eight months in an Israeli prison for slapping an
Israeli soldier, is seen upon her release in her home village of Nabi Saleh,
July 29, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian teenager who was arrested after being
filmed for slapping an IDF soldier in her family’s yard, was released from
Israeli prison Sunday morning, along with her mother Nariman, after eight
months behind bars.
Upon their release, the two were greeted by Ahed’s father, Bassem
Tamimi, as well as other family members. Also present were MK Aida
Touma-Sleiman, Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists, along
with news crews that spent the morning traveling back and forth
between Jabara checkpoint and Rantis checkpoint in the early hours of the
morning, after the army repeatedly changed the location of Ahed and
Nariman’s release.
poster at the entrance to Nabil Saleh |
The two were eventually driven in an army jeep to the entrance of their
village, Nabi Saleh, where they were released. There, Ahed briefly thanked her
supporters and immediately went in the direction of the home of Izz a-Din
Tamimi, who was killed a month and a half ago during a raid on the village. As
she left the house, Ahed said “the popular struggle continues from the prisons
and until the home of the martyr.”
Ahed, 17, was arrested in December 2017 after a video of her slapping an
Israeli soldier during a protest in Nabi Saleh went viral. The incident took
place a few hours after soldiers shot Ahed’s cousin, Muhammad Tamimi, in the
head with a rubber bullet. Shortly thereafter, soldiers showed up in the Tamimi
family’s home; Ahed and her cousin Nur confronted the armed soldiers, demanding
they leave, after which Ahed slapped one of the soldiers, while her mother
filmed the incident. The soldiers, who seemed unfazed, left the home without
making any arrests. Only after footage of the confrontation went viral did IDF
soldiers return to the Tamimi home in the early hours of the morning to arrest
Ahed. Nariman and Nur were also arrested.
Ahed and Nariman’s trial, which took place at Ofer Military Court near
Ramallah, turned into a media sensation. After a number of hearings, the court
decided to kick out journalists and diplomats, ostensibly to protect Ahed’s
interests as a minor. In March, Ahed, Nariman, and Nur signed a plea bargain
according to which she would serve eight months in prison, including three
months time served.
Ahed and Nariman are expected to visit the Muqata’a, the Palestinian
Authority headquarters, in Ramallah on Sunday, where they will stop by Yasser
Arafat’s grave and meet top PA officials. From there they will celebrate
privately with family members before returning to Nabi Saleh. In the days after
her release, Ahed will give interviews every day for one hour to all media
outlets. Nabi Saleh will hold a large ceremony to celebrate her release this
coming weekend. In the coming week she is expected to visit the Bedouin village
of Khan al-Ahmar, which is at risk of demolition by the Israeli authorities.
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