Prominent Palestinian Activist, Ahed Tamimi, Arrested in West Bank during Israeli Raids

In a continued escalation of conflicts in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have arrested prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, a symbol of Palestinian resistance, amidst accusations of "inciting terrorism". This follows the Israel-Hamas war that ignited last month.

Zein Basravi, Al Jazeera correspondent reported several Israeli army raids, including in the village of Nabi Saleh, the region where Ahed was detained. Allegedly, Ahed had been inciting violence and promoting terrorist activities. Post-arrest, she was handed over to Israeli security authorities for further investigation.

Anadolu conveyed the account of Tamimi's mother, Nariman, stating that the Israeli forces had searched the house and seized family's mobile phones. Her father, Bassem, was also captured last week during a similar raid. No information has been provided on his whereabouts.

Ahed's arrest was triggered by an Instagram post in which she purportedly called for the murder of West Bank settlers. This information came from Israeli media and a security source who shared the post with AFP as evidence for her arrest. Nariman, however, refuted these allegations stating that much of the content was not her daughter's doing but were found on various online pages bearing Ahed's name and picture.

Ahed Tamimi and her family are renowned activists. They have led Nabi Saleh's non-violent resistance for about a decade. Her father has also been captured many times and has spent approximately four years in prison. Ahed's iconic status grew after a video of her boldly confronting an Israeli soldier went viral. She was arrested previously in 2017, and was sentenced for eight months on twelve charges, including assault and incitement.

With the intensifying Israeli raids in the West Bank, notable incidents included a massive military operation at the Shuafat refugee camp. Rafat Alian, an adviser to the Palestinian Authority government, was detained during a live interview. Since October 7, about 1,740 Palestinians have been arrested in such raids.