Ahed Tamimi

What a shame!!! Israel which claims to be “the only democracy in the Middle East” has been harassing a little town called Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah.  Not only have they confiscated their land to put a settlement in the midst of this Palestinian country side, they also confiscated their spring of water.  So their water supply is irregular and unpredictable, and not more than 12 hours per week.  That is why they have to rely on water tanks and be very very careful.   Moreover, that Spring area was their only recreational ground.  How ironic that Israel is determined to build walls of separation,  yet the settlers   choose to  live in our midst and make life hell for us.   Nabi Saleh is just one of those sites that have been coveted by the Israeli settlers. Any body that has common sense or compassion would understand why the old and young people have been demonstrating regularly against such a brutal injustice.  How many in Israel or the US would sit still if their land is confiscated illegally and their water is not flowing  through their taps  regularly on daily basis? 

Ahed Tamimi grew up in this atmosphere of  daily harassment.  Her reaction to the news of the shooting of her  fifteen-year-old cousin in the head with a rubber bullet, requiring the surgical removal of part of his skull,  was not surprising.    This young courageous woman got out all her anger, and with her bare hands,  with no stone or knife,  simply slapped those two soldiers to show them that they were not welcome in the courtyard of her house.  Maybe the shock of the slapping made those soldiers act with restraint,  thinking that after all she was a child.  The whole episode might have ended as a joke had the incident not been documented on video, and hence went viral.   That is why  “the most moral army in the world” could not face this insult and the  plan now is to teach Ahed a lesson that she and other young people of her age will never forget. 

With all the international pressure and petitions to release her and her mother, dare we hope that this “moral army” will drop charges and put an end to the suffering of the whole Tamimi family who have already lost four of their family Bassema in 1993, Mustafa in 2011, Rushdi in 2012 and most recently Musaab in 2018.  Who is going to try the murderers of those young people?  Will Israel be allowed to continue flouting international law?  It is time this occupation comes to an end and with it, the colonial settler project that is causing so much suffering for the Palestinian people and hindering peace in the region.