Hitting Israeli soldiers: Palestinian girl sparks debate

An Israeli court on Monday extended the custody of three Palestinian women detained after a viral video of an alleged assault on Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, the police said.

They said the Ofer military court ruled that Ahed Tamimi, 17, her mother Nariman Tamimi, 43, and her cousin Nour Naji Tamimi, 21, would remain in custody until Thursday.

All three women appeared in a video that went viral after it was shot on December 15 in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah.

The footage shows Nour and Ahed approaching two Israeli soldiers before shoving, kicking and slapping them while filming on mobile phones.

The heavily armed soldiers do not respond in the face of what appears to be an attempt to provoke rather than seriously harm them.

They then move backwards after Ahed’s mother Nariman becomes involved.

The Tamimi family are at the forefront of regular protests in Nabi Saleh, a frequent scene of demonstrations against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

They say a member of the family was shot in the head with a rubber bullet during protests on December 15.

Residents say part of the village’s land was confiscated by Israeli authorities and given to a nearby Israeli settlement.

The videos of the alleged assault were widely picked up by Israeli media outlets, which often accuse Palestinian protesters of provoking the army into responses which are then filmed.

Israeli politicians hailed the restraint of the soldiers as evidence of the military’s values, but some called for tough responses.

Some social media users criticized Ahed’s arrest in the middle of the night, arguing it is the Palestinian people’s right to resist military occupation.