Palestinian teen slapping Israeli soldiers remanded until end of trial

JERUSALEM, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli court Wednesday ordered a Palestinian girl to remain in custody until the end of her trial after video caught her slapping two Israeli soldiers.

Ahed Tamimi, 16-year-old, was apprehended after a viral video showed her hitting and kicking two Israeli soldiers, which was widely seen as a heroic act by Palestinians.

Nariman Tamimi, the girl's mother, was also arrested for riot and incitement.

A military spokesperson confirmed that Israel's Ofer Military Court in the West Bank decided to remand both Ahed Tamimi and Nariman Tamimi until the end of the legal proceedings in their cases.

"The gravity of the offenses of which she is accused does not allow an alternative to custody," the judge wrote in his decision.

"The defendant actions are aimed at promoting an ideological goal, making her release from detention extremely difficult," the judge wrote.

On Dec. 15, Ahed Tamimi was caught on video footage kicking and hitting soldiers. The footage became viral on social networks, triggering rage in Israel and calls to punish the girl.

In a pre-dawn raid on their family home on Dec. 19, Israeli troops arrested Ahed Tamimi and her mother. The two have remained under arrest since then.

According to the Israeli military's Spokesperson Unit, she was charged with attacking the soldiers as well attacking security forces on five additional occasions, participating in violent riots, threatening and inciting others.

Ahed Tamimi was hailed as a hero and an icon of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation.

The Palestinian-led "Free the Tamimis" campaign said Ahed Tamimi was trying to drive the soldiers out of her courtyard shortly after troops shot and gravely injured a boy named Nabi Salah during a protest in their village.

In a statement released by the campaign, the girl's father Bassem Tamimi said "as a father, I would have wished a different life for her, but the occupation won't allow a normal childhood for our children and I am proud of her decisions and courage."

He said he was not surprised by the ruling. "When both the prosecutor and judge are soldiers, the outcome was known before the hearing even began. They just want us to bow and keep our heads down," he said.

Israel seized the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war and has held them ever since, despite international criticism and a persistent Palestinian struggle. Enditem