Israel 'bans' Ahed Tamimi from travelling abroad, says family

Israel 'bans' Ahed Tamimi from travelling abroad, says family
Ahed Tamimi became an icon of Palestinian resistance after slapping an Israeli soldier.
2 min read
08 September, 2018
Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi was jailed for eight months [Getty]
Palestinian "hero" Ahed Tamimi, who became an icon after slapping an Israeli soldier and spending eight months in prison, has been banned from travelling abroad, her father said.

Speaking to Turkish news agency Anadolu, her father Bassem Tamimi said his family had planned to travel to Europe after crossing into Jordan and participate in events during which they would discuss Tamimi's time behind bars.

The family had planned to leave on Friday morning, he said, when they were informed by Palestinian authorities that Israel had banned them from travelling abroad, without either administration providing a reason for the decision.

Tamimi, who was 16 when she was arrested in December for hitting and kicking soldiers in front of her house in the occupied West Bank, was released in July.

Comment: Today we celebrate Tamimi's release, tomorrow the struggle continues

The now 17-year-old said at the time that she understood she had become a "symbol" of the Palestinian cause.

"I didn't do anything wrong that I should regret," she said.

She pointed to the circumstances in which the soldiers had entered the garden of her house in December during a day of major protests that saw her cousin shot in the head with a rubber bullet.

Her confronting of the Israeli soldiers was recorded and went viral online.

Tamimi's detention drew international condemnation, putting Israel's treatment of Palestinians under the spotlight, especially Palestinian youth.