31 July 2018•Update: 31 July 2018
CAIRO
The Arab League on Tuesday congratulated the Palestinian people on the release of jailed Palestinian teen Ahed al-Tamimi -- and her mother -- following an eight-month stint in an Israeli prison.
“Al-Tamimi has become a symbol of Palestinian steadfastness… especially during this fateful phase through which the Palestinian cause is now passing,” Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Said Abu Ali said in a press statement.
“The defiance shown by Ahed and her mother in the face of Israeli crimes and terrorism is a victory for both the Palestinian people and the free peoples of the world,” he added.
On Sunday, the Israeli authorities released al-Tamimi and her mother, Nariman, after both had served out eight months behind bars.
Upon her release, al-Tamimi told reporters in her hometown of Nabi Saleh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that the Palestinian people would “continue their struggle” against Israel’s decades-long occupation.
“The occupation is doomed,” the 17-year-old said defiantly. “They can’t break our will by throwing us behind bars.”
The Israeli authorities arrested al-Tamimi last December, later slapping her with an eight-month jail term for “attacking” an Israeli soldier.
Speaking to reporters in Nabi Saleh, al-Tamimi also thanked her supporters who, she said, had stood by her and her family during her months in detention.
“Palestinian prisoners [still in Israel’s custody] are in high spirits,” she said, promising to convey a message from them later on Tuesday.
In 2012, Istanbul’s Basaksehir Municipality granted al-Tamimi the prestigious Hanzala Courage Award for defying Israeli soldiers who had just arrested her brother.
