RAMALLAH: Ahed Tamimi has been in jail since Dec. 15. The 16-year-old Palestinian girl, who became internationally famous when a video of her and her cousin Nour Tamimi slapping two Israeli soldiers went viral last month, remains in Israeli custody — along with her mother Nairiman — while Nour, 20, was released early Friday after posting bail of $1,450.
“Ahed is suffering in dire conditions in Israel’s Hasharon prison,” her aunt Manal Tamimi told Arab News. Manal was released from Hasharon herself on Wednesday, having been arrested, she said, “during a peaceful rally” in Western Ramallah. She was accused of the attempted assault of a female Israeli soldier.
“Ahed’s suffering isn’t only due to poor conditions including cold and inadequate food, but also to attempts to break her spirit,” Manal continued. She cited procedures including a five-hour transfer from Hasharon to Ramla prison, after which Ahed was moved to Ofer detention center and placed in “a very cold cell” for the day. Manal said Ahed had also been placed in solitary confinement on occasion.
Manal said that while she was in custody, she was able to communicate with Ahed, Nour and Nairiman, who were in cells opposite her.
“Her mother and I tried to offer support,” Manal told Arab News. “We were worried about Ahed, because she would be on the verge of collapse when she returned after many hours travelling from one prison to another.”
However, she added, Ahed’s spirits remain high because she believes Palestinians must resist occupation, regardless of the consequences.
When Ahed learned that Nour was to be released, Manal said, Ahed gave her cousin the password to her Instagram and Facebook accounts “so she could find out how the world was reacting to her case.”
Ahed will remain in custody at least until her hearing on Monday, when the prosecution is expected to add to the 12 charges already filed against her. Ahed’s Israeli lawyer Gaby Lasky was not immediately available for comment.
Nour’s father Naji, who was released from jail Friday morning, says Israeli forces raided his house and detained his daughter at 3:30 a.m. and that most of the questions she faced were about the video in which Nour and Ahed confronted the two soldiers.
He claimed the Israeli media was inciting hatred against his family, and Ahed in particular. “They always describe the family as having ‘a long history of terrorism,’ as if they are talking about ISIS,” he said.
The Tamimi family make up a large portion of the 600-strong population of their village, Nabi Salih, in Ramallah. The village is known for its activism, including a weekly rally after Friday prayers.
“Popular resistance isn’t new (here),” Naji said. “The village has been suffering from restrictions imposed by Israel.” Illegal settlements, he said, have “swallowed” vast areas of land around the village, and there were, until recently, two Israeli military checkpoints nearby.
However, in a move which offers hope to the Tamimis, Israel recently removed one of the checkpoints, he said, “following popular and media pressure.”
A family affair: The Tamimis’ history of resistance
A family affair: The Tamimis’ history of resistance
Sudanese nomads trapped as war fuels banditry and ethnic splits
- War disrupts nomads’ traditional routes and livelihoods
- Nomads face threats from bandits as well as ethnic tensions
NEAR AL-OBEID: Gubara Al-Basheer and his family used to traverse Sudan’s desert with their camels and livestock, moving freely between markets, water sources, and green pastures. But since war erupted in 2023, he and other Arab nomads have been stuck in the desert outside the central Sudanese city of Al-Obeid, threatened by marauding bandits and ethnic tensions.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left nearly 14 million people displaced, triggered rounds of ethnic bloodshed, and spread famine and disease.
It has also upset the delicate balance of land ownership and livestock routes that had maintained the nomads’ livelihoods and wider relations in the area, local researcher Ibrahim Jumaa said. Al-Obeid is one of Sudan’s largest cities and capital of North Kordofan state, which has seen the war’s heaviest fighting in recent months.
Those who spoke to Reuters from North Kordofan said they found themselves trapped as ethnic hatred, linked to the war and fueled largely online, spreads.
“We used to be able to move as we wanted. Now there is no choice and no side accepts you,” al-Basheer said. “In the past there were a lot of markets where we could buy and sell. No one hated anyone or rejected anyone. Now it’s dangerous,” he said.
RISK OF ROBBERY
As well as the encroaching war, the nomads — who Jumaa said number in the millions across Sudan — face a threat from bandits who steal livestock.
“There are so many problems now. We can’t go anywhere and if we try we get robbed,” said Hamid Mohamed, another shepherd confined to the outskirts of Al-Obeid.
The RSF emerged from Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which were accused of genocide in Darfur in the early 2000s.
The US and rights groups have accused the RSF of committing genocide against non-Arabs in West Darfur during the current conflict, in an extension of long-running violence stemming from disputes over land.
The RSF has denied responsibility for ethnically charged killings and has said those responsible for abuses will be held to account. Throughout the war the force has formed linkages with other Arab tribes, at times giving them free rein to loot and kidnap.
But some Arab tribes, and many tribesmen, have not joined the fight.
“We require a national program to counter hate speech, to impose the rule of law, and to promote social reconciliation, as the war has torn the social fabric,” said Jumaa.
