Ahed Tamimi released from prison

» Caolán McGinley

“Ahed was persecuted for defending her family and community from brutal, aggressive Israeli oppressors. She was not prepared to bow down." - Pat Sheehan

Palestinian teenager, Ahed Tamimi, was released today after spending eight months in an Israeli jail. 

Ahed was arrested in December after a video of her challenging Israeli occupation forces to leave her West Bank family home went viral on social media.  

Since her arrest, Tamimi has become an icon of resistance to occupation and the international face of Palestinian child prisoners. 

Sinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan MLA said Ahed’s imprisonment was ‘completely wrong’ and welcomed her release back to her family. 

“Ahed was persecuted for defending her family and community from brutal, aggressive Israeli oppressors. She was not prepared to bow down.

"There are currently 350 other Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons today, the case of Ahed Tamimi brought their struggle to the national stage,” he said.

The party’s Middle East spokesperson called on the international community to uphold the rights of children and branded their silence as ‘deafening’. 

“The Irish government must live up to their commitments by recognising the State of Palestine as agreed by the Dáil, but also to do the right thing by immediately expelling the Israeli ambassador,” he concluded.

A large crowd gathered in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh this morning to welcome home Ahed and her mother, Nariman Tamimi, who also served an eight month sentence. 

In an emotional address to the crowd, Ahed Tamimi thanked everyone who had supported her and paid tribute to all female prisoners.

Sinn Féin MEP and former political prisoner, Martina Anderson also paid tribute to Ahed Tamimi and her mother, in a Tweet this morning, describing their plight as ‘courageous and proud’.