Israeli human rights organisation criticises treatment of Ahed Al Tamimi

An Israeli human rights organisation has criticised the treatment of Ahed Al Tamimi, the Palestinian teenager who stood up to two policemen in the yard of her West Bank home.

In a heated debate on the BBC that also included the Israeli deputy minister for diplomacy, Michael Oren, Yael Stein of B’Tselem said the Israeli justice system was failing Palestinian children.

“Children are being taken from their house in the middle of the night and, first and foremost, being put into detention,” Ms Stein said.

“It’s the first step, not a last resort of the system. They are being tried as adults, they have no benefit of being children, their detention is almost automatically being defended by the military courts.”

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Ahed, 16, was arrested on December 19 after a video emerged of her slapping two Israeli soldiers in Nabi Saleh village, 20 kilometres from Ramallah.

She was indicted on assault changes, among others, on Tuesday along with her cousin Noor, 20, and mother Nariman.

Mr Oren earlier defended the Israeli government’s decision to try Ahed in a military court, despite her being unarmed and a minor.

On Ahed’s statement that the same two policemen had shot her young cousin in the face with a rubber bullet an hour before, he said: “So she claims. They make similar claims every time they do this.”