Renowned activist Ahed Tamimi among Palestinians freed by Israel in Gaza truce swap

Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi was among 30 prisoners freed by Israel early on Thursday under an extended temporary Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Israeli troops earlier this month arrested Tamimi, regarded in the occupied West Bank as a hero since she was a teenager, on suspicion of inciting violence. Her mother has denied the allegation and said it was based on a fake social media post, given that Tamimi does not have an Instagram account where the post were allegedly made.

The Israel Prison Service posted a list of Palestinians released on Thursday morning to its website that included Tamimi. A Palestinian official said she was released after being jailed in Damon Prison, near the Israeli city of Haifa.

BREAKING: ACTIVIST FEMALE HOSTAGE AHED TAMIMI IS RELEASED AND SPEAKS OUT

Upon her departure, she recounted being warned that her father, currently detained in occupation prisons, would be killed if she choose to reveal the truth. pic.twitter.com/KGZUyfHrvP

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) November 30, 2023

Tamimi, 22, rose to prominence in 2017 when, at age 16, she slapped an Israeli soldier who raided her West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. She and others have for years protested Israeli land seizures in the area.

After slapping the soldier, Tamimi was sentenced to eight months in prison upon pleading guilty to reduced charges that included assault.

Tamimi is one of thousands in the West Bank who have been arrested amid anger in the deadly war in Gaza which has killed close to 15,000 Palestinians. Moreover, Israeli raids - which are frequent in the West Bank - intensified since October 7, where at least 242 Palestinians have been killed.

Under a truce set to expire early on Thursday, Israel has released over 100 Palestinians from its jails in exchange for Israeli hostages captured on October 7.