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Israel’s decision to put a Palestinian teen on trial could come back to bite it

"Israel Strikes Iran in Syria and Loses a Jet"

By Loveday Morris February 13 at 4:00 AM Email the author

[VIDEO 1:16 - ] A 16-year-old Palestinian activist is going on trial Feb. 13. Here's what you should know about Ahed Tamimi. (The Washington Post)

OFER, West Bank — Slouching in her chair and mouthing messages to her friends and family from under a cascade of strawberry-blond curls, Ahed Tamimi in many ways appears to be an everyday teenager.

But the tussle of television cameras and photographers that crowded in for a shot of her in the dock of a small Israeli military court in Ofer for a bail hearing last month was a reminder that she is far from it.

Ahed, who recently turned 17, was arrested after a video of her slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers who had entered her front yard went viral last year. On Tuesday, she goes on trial on 12 charges, including assault of a soldier and incitement.

The judge though, decided to eject all journalists and all external observers from the hearing, in what rights groups said was an attempt to squash coverage of what could be a lengthy and an embarrassing trial.

The judge argued that it was in Ahed’s interest, but her lawyer said it was not.

Although no one was seriously hurt, the Israeli military, her lawyer says, is keen to make an example of her to deter other young Palestinians from fighting back against the Israeli occupation.

But what is expected to be a months-long trial could well have the opposite effect, while highlighting concerns surrounding the detention of minors by Israel.

Already a poster child for the Palestinian cause, her arrest has propelled her to new levels of fame. Images of her standing hands on hips and staring down an Israeli soldier were plastered on London bus stops calling for her release.

Jim Fitzpatrick, an Irish artist famed for his iconic two-toned painting of Che Guevara, painted her as Wonder Woman. She has been compared to Rosa Parks and Joan of Arc. An Israeli musician even likened her to Anne Frank.

Her family says letters of messages of support have flooded in from the region and the world.

Bassem Tamimi, her father, says his daughter’s arrest came just when the Palestinians needed a new source of inspiration.

“It’s the moment of Trump, the moment that nobody knows what to do,” he said. “The people in the Arab countries and the Palestinians are bored of seeing a victim all the time. Now they see a small child slapping the face of the occupation.”

Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and a White House they see as favoring Israel more than ever, has fueled frustration among Palestinians. Regular clashes have broken out in the West Bank between demonstrators and Israeli forces, which although not large after 50 years of occupation, have been persistent.

But also a factor in her international fame, her father says, is Ahed’s blond hair and blue eyes.

“They don’t like to see a white girl as a victim,” he said. “They see their children, they see themselves.”

Media attention in adolescence

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israels-decision-to-put-a-palestinian-teen-on-trial-could-come-back-to-bite-it/2018/02/12/bf33b864-100f-11e8-a68c-e9374188170e_story.html?utm_term=.0a3f18b7266b

See also:

Apartheid, Settler Colonialism and the Palestinian State 50 Years On
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