Initially, Ahed thought that Mohammed had been killed, so, when heavily-armed Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) came into her family’s yard, she was angry. Earlier, the town, including the Tamimi family’s home, had been tear-gassed. On seeing the soldiers approach her house, Ahed (16 years old) and another cousin, Nour (19 years old), told the soldiers to leave. Her rage at seeing the Occupation Forces was tangible. Ahed’s anger resulted in her kicking, punching, slapping and screaming at one of the soldiers, an officer.
Every Friday after prayers, villagers gather to walk to the spring whose waters and pool once were used by the Muslim families in the village. The nearby illegal settlement (certified as such under international law and by UN resolutions) of Halamish has taken possession of the spring which is on Palestinian-owned land. These nonviolent Nabi Saleh protests have been going on since 2009. At times, some of the extremist settlers verbally and physically attack the villagers while Israeli soldiers stand by.
In February of last year, a Veterans for Peace (VFP) delegation accompanied the villagers during their protest. They, too, were attacked, both verbally and physically by several settlers some of whom were armed. One VFP member recalled one settler saying to Ahed, “The next time I see you here, I will kill you.” Another youthful “settler” in Palestinian Hebron, said to a US citizen who was Jewish, “I am 10, but when I grow up, I will kill you.” Certainly, not all settlers feel this way but a substantial number do. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) protect the “settlers” (colonists) who often act with impunity when they physically attack the residents of Nabi Saleh. There are other Palestinian villages who have done popular resistance marches such as Bil’in, Budrus, and Nil’in, whose inhabitants have also been attacked by both the military and settlers. A fact to remember is that massive US aid to Israel subsidizes such illegal settlements - almost $4 billion a year, about $10 million a day.
Ahed’s story is one that deserves to be told. So, as noted, on December 19, 2017, she was taken at gunpoint from her home. Nour, Ahed’s cousin and Ahed’s mother, Nariman, were also arrested and taken to jail. This occurred after the video that Nariman took of the “slap” was posted on Facebook and later was shown on Israeli TV. There was an outrage among most Israelis at seeing the film. Some praised the soldiers for showing restraint as they merely walked away after the “assault.” Others said very negative things. Here are three examples:
At the entrance to Nabi Saleh, several messages were spray painted on buildings: “Death to Ahed Tamimi” and another said, “There is no room in the Land of Israel for the Tamimi family.”
Naftali Bennett, the Israeli Education Minister said Ahed should “end her life in jail.”
A well-known Israeli commentator, Ben Caspit, stated that Ahed’s kicking and
slapping the IOF soldier ought to perhaps result in Ahed’s sexual assault in jail, “in the dark without witnesses and cameras.” He is still at his job in Israel.
The young settler in the blue sweatshirt told Ahed,
"The next time I see you here, I will kill you."