Palestinian girl caught slapping Israeli soldiers reaches plea bargain

JERUSALEM, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian girl who was caught on a video slapping two Israeli soldiers agreed to sign a plea deal with the military prosecution on Wednesday, local media reported.

Ahed Tamimi, who was 16 at the time of the incident, would also have to pay a 5,000-shekel (about 1,430 U.S. dollars) according to reports.

She would plead guilty to four of the 12 counts in which she was indicted, including assault and incitement.

The deal was under review by the Ofer Military Court on Wednesday evening, a military spokesperson said. The court is expected to announce whether it approves the deal by next week.

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Middle East division of Human Rights Watch, said slammed Israel for "putting this child behind bars for eight months for calling for protests and slapping a soldier, after threatening her with years in jail."

She said that plea bargains are the norm in Israel's military justice system, which is "characterized by prolonged pretrial detention, abuse of kids and sham trials. Hundreds of Palestinian children remain locked up with little attention on their cases."

The incident took place in Tamimi's village, Nabi Saleh, in the central Israeli-occupied West Bank, one of the main sites of struggle against the Israeli occupation.

On December 15, 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 Palestine and internationally, Tamimi was hailed as a hero and an icon of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation. Her trail, which was held behind closed doors, triggered an international campaign to free the girl.

Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and has controlled it ever since, despite international criticism. Enditem