Israel arrests Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi in occupied West Bank raids

Israeli forces have arrested Ahed Tamimi, a prominent 22-year-old Palestinian activist, for “inciting terrorism”.

They announced the arrest on Monday following another round of overnight raids and fighting in the occupied West Bank. Violence has been spilling over into the territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month.

Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi reported multiple raids by the Israeli army across the West Bank, including in the village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, where Ahed Tamimi was arrested.

The activist “was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence and terrorist activities”, an army spokesperson said. “Tamimi was transferred to Israeli security forces for further questioning.”

Nariman Tamimi, the activist’s mother, told Anadolu news agency that Israeli forces had searched the house and confiscated the mobile phones of the family members. Her father Bassem Tamimi was arrested by Israeli forces during a raid in the town last week, with no information of his whereabouts.

Israeli media reported that Ahed Tamimi had called for the murder of settlers in the West Bank in an Instagram post. An Israeli security source shared the alleged Instagram post with AFP when questioned about the reason for her arrest.

However, Nariman denied that her daughter wrote the post. “There are dozens of (online) pages in Ahed’s name with her photo, with which she has no connection,” she said.

The Israeli army celebrated Ahed Tamimi’s arrest, publishing a picture on Facebook and asking: “Where is her smile now?”

Family of activists

Tamimi and her family members are well-known activists and have led Nabi Saleh’s non-violent resistance for nearly a decade.

Her father has been arrested numerous times by Israeli forces and has spent at least four years in prison.

Ahed Tamimi became an icon of Palestinian resistance since a video of her 2012 confrontation with an Israeli soldier, who had arrived at the family house to arrest her brother, went viral.

She was previously arrested by the Israeli army in December 2017 following further confrontations, alongside her mother and 20-year-old cousin Nour.

Indicted on 12 charges, including assault, incitement and past instances of stone-throwing, she was jailed for eight months.

Overnight raids

Ahed Tamimi’s arrest came amid another night of Israeli raids and fighting in the occupied West Bank, with the occupying forces intensifying nightly raids on Palestinian homes, villages and cities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Reporting from Ramallah, Basravi said it was a hectic night, with multiple cities across the West Bank witnessing raids and open clashes between the army and armed Palestinian fighters. Footage showed roads and cars destroyed.

At the Shuafat refugee camp, one of the largest military raids took place. It is known to be home to several Palestinian armed groups. The Israeli army arrested an adviser to the Palestinian Authority (PA) government and Fatah member Rafat Alian was detained during a live interview.

Israel has arrested about 1,740 Palestinians in overnight raids in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7.

Most are being held under laws and military orders that allow detention without trial or charge.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies