Ahed Tamimi, a prominent 22-year-old Palestinian activist, was recently arrested by the Israeli army during a raid in the occupied West Bank. The arrest took place in the town of Nabi Salih, near Ramallah, and Tamimi was taken into custody on suspicion of inciting violence and engaging in terrorist activities. She has since been transferred to Israeli security forces for further questioning. The arrest was made as part of an operation aimed at apprehending individuals believed to be involved in terrorist activities and incitement to hatred in the North of the West Bank.
The reasons for Tamimi’s arrest were revealed when a security source shared an Instagram post attributed to her. The post, written in Arabic and Hebrew, called for the massacre of Israelis in a violent manner, even making references to Hitler. However, Tamimi’s mother, Nariman al-Tamimi, denied that her daughter wrote the post, mentioning that there are several pages on social media falsely associated with Ahed’s name and image. She also mentioned that her husband, Bassem al-Tamimi, had been arrested earlier and his whereabouts remained unknown.
Tamimi gained attention at the age of 14 when she was filmed biting an Israeli soldier who was attempting to arrest her brother. Since then, she has become an icon for the Palestinian cause, with a large portrait of her painted on the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem. In 2017, she was arrested and held for eight months after slapping two Israeli soldiers in the courtyard of her family home, as she requested them to leave.
The arrest of Tamimi comes amidst a period of increased tensions and violence in the West Bank following the start of the Gaza bombing. Israeli security forces have conducted numerous arrests targeting individuals suspected of links to Hamas or involvement in inciting violence. These tensions have resulted in over 150 Palestinian deaths, mostly caused by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry.