On 19 December, 16-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi was abducted in an overnight raid on her home by Israeli soldiers. The raid came in response to a viral video showing Tamimi slapping an Israeli soldier. What the video did not show was that this took place after an Israeli soldier had shot Tamimi’s 15-year-old cousin Mohammad at point-blank range with a rubber-coated steel bullet, shattering his jaw and leaving him in a medically-induced coma for 72 hours. Tamimi was charged in an Israeli military court with 12 counts of assault, incitement, interference with soldiers, and stone-throwing incidents, some dating back to April 2016. If convicted she faces up to 10 years in prison. At her first court appearance on 17 January, the military judge ruled that she would be detained for the duration of her case, which could take months.
Wesam Khaled
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! 262 February/March 2018
