May 23, 2018
In Blog News
The 15-year-old the cousin of Ahed Tamimi was arrested for throwing rocks at cars outside his West Bank village, but was later released; family denies claims
Palestinian teenager Mohammed Tamimi, whose family has been the subject of much international media attention, was arrested for throwing rocks at cars on the road outside his West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, according to Israel Defense Forces. This is the second time the teen has been arrested.
Tamimi’s family denied that he was involved in any such activity. His relatives reject the claim that he was arrested by the road while throwing rocks. His father, Fadel, claims he was arrested near his home by four undercover police officers in a car.
Fadel told Haaretz that there were no eyewitnesses to the arrest, which took place at 10:23 P.M. the night before. Mohammed was headed to a grocery store that was open late on behalf of the Ramadan fast, Fadel said.
“No one saw him,” Fadel said. “He left the house in the direction of the store near the gas station to buy something. There was a car there. Two people were inside the car, two were outside. One of them seemed to be on the phone. When Mohammed passed them they grabbed him, put a hand over his mouth and dragged him into the car.” According to Fadel, the men in the car were dressed in civilian clothing.
Fadel confirmed that Mohammed was held by the police for a short time and was soon transferred to the Palestinian Authority police, who then released him. By Mondaymorning he was back home in Nabi Saleh, located outside Ramallah.
Tamimi had been involved before in clashes with soldiers, during which his face had been disfigured, although there are differing accounts of how that occurred. His family claims he had been shot by Israeli soldiers using rubber bullets during a protest back in December. For his part, the outgoing coordinator of activities in the territories, General Yoav Mordechai, claims the teen had been injured in a bike crash, and that he admitted as much. The family however has x-rays that counter that claim.
His now better-known-cousin, Ahed Tamimi, was convicted in March of assaulting an IDF soldier, incitement and interfering with a soldier in the line of duty. She became a global symbol of the Palestinian resistance movement following her arrest in December.