Ahed Tamimi, a Palestinian woman who was previously lauded as a "hero" and likened to "Rosa Parks" by liberal media outlets, was arrested on Monday by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in the West Bank village of Nabi Selah.
The arrest followed allegations of inciting terrorism and advocating for the spilling of Jewish blood.
The IDF stated, "The IDF has carried out substantial numbers of counterterrorism activity since Oct. 7 and has apprehended hundreds of suspects. Overnight, the IDF carried out activity to apprehend individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity and incitement." The statement further clarified that Tamimi, who is suspected of inciting violence and calling for terrorist activity, was apprehended and transferred to Israeli security forces for further questioning.
The arrest was linked to a social media post allegedly from Tamimi's account, which incited Palestinians to drink Jewish blood and eat their skulls. The post read, "Our message to the herd of settlers, we are waiting for you in all the West Bank cities from Hebron to Jenin - we will slaughter you and you will say what Hitler did to you was a joke, we will drink your blood and eat your skulls, come on, we are waiting for you."
Initially, Tamimi's mother denied that the posts originated from her daughter's official account, later claiming the account had been hacked.
Tamimi gained notoriety in liberal media circles after she was sentenced to eight months in prison by an Israeli military court for assaulting two IDF soldiers in 2018. The incident received extensive coverage in liberal media outlets.
NBC's digital website reported the event with the headline, "Slap heard 'round the world: Ahed Tamimi becomes symbol of Palestinian resistance." The New York Times labeled Tamimi "a feisty symbol of resistance against the Israeli occupation" in 2018 when the assault took place. Before that, she was featured in the Times' magazine in a collection titled "The Resisters."
MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan ran a segment on Tamimi in 2022, dubbing her a "Palestinian hero." CNN's editor Nadeem Muaddi praised Tamimi's book, "They Called Me a Lioness," and described Tamimi as a "national hero" and a "Fearless teen" after she slapped and assaulted IDF soldiers.
Al Jazeera published an opinion article labeling Tamimi "the Palestinian Rosa Parks," while the Intercept labeled her a "Symbol of Palestinian Resistance." The Associated Press hailed Tamimi as "an international symbol of resistance to Israeli occupation after slapping two soldiers."
However, Tamimi's rise to liberal media stardom has not been without controversy. The Times reported that Tamimi once "declared, Our strength is in our stones, and appeared to condone, or justify, stabbings, suicide bombings and other violence." Furthermore, her family is well-known to the IDF. Her cousin, Ahlam al-Tamimi, was involved in the Sbarro pizza bombing in 2001, which resulted in the death of more than a dozen people, including two Americans.
Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, also defended Tamimi for assaulting an IDF solider by calling for her release from jail. In a statement, Amnesty International defended its campaign for Tamimi to be released at the time, but condemned antisemitism.
The statement read, "Amnesty International campaigned for the release of Ahed Tamimi in 2018 following her wrongful imprisonment at the age of 16 after an online video, showing her shoving, slapping, and kicking two Israeli soldiers in her home village of Nabi Saleh in December 2017, went viral. She was released in 2018 after serving more than seven months of an eight-month prison sentence. Amnestys campaign ended following her release."
The statement continued, "As a human rights organization, Amnesty resolutely condemns antisemitism and all other forms of racism and discrimination which are antithetical to human rights."
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