(IDF spokesperson video screenshot)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A military court in Israel indicted a Palestinian woman who was filmed alongside her more famous cousin slapping and harassing IDF soldiers standing guard in a West Bank Palestinian village.
Nour Tamimi, 21, was indicted on Sunday on charges of aggravated assault of a soldier and preventing soldiers from carrying out their duties. She likely will remain in prison until the end of her legal case.
Nour Tamimi was filmed with her cousin Ahed Tamimi, 16, and her aunt Nariman Tamimi earlier this month slapping and harassing the soldiers in the village of Nabi Saleh in an apparent attempt to provoke a violent response. The video went viral on social media.
It is believed that Ahed and her mother also will soon be indicted on similar charges. The court reportedly is investigating previous encounters the teen has had with Israeli soldiers
The Tamimis are well-known anti-occupation activists. Two weeks ago, Israeli troops shot a male cousin, 15, in the face with a rubber bullet, and he was for several days in a medically induced coma, an incident that the family says prompted the women to push the soldiers away from the family home.
Ahed Tamimi is well known as a leader of youth protests against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.
The video and her arrest set off wide debate within Israel, among some who felt the soldiers should have acted more quickly and forcefully; others who insisted they showed admirable restraint; and still others who felt Israel is persecuting the Tamimi family.
