LONDON, March 24, 2018 (WAFA) – Commenting on Israel’s sentencing of Ahed Tamimi, 17, to eight months in prison for slapping an armed Israeli soldier who invaded her home, British Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said on Friday that Israel’s detention of Palestinian children remains a human rights priority for the United Kingdom.

“The conviction and sentencing of Ahed Tamimi is emblematic of how the unresolved conflict is blighting the lives of a new generation, who should be growing up together in peace, but continue to be divided,” said Burt in a statement.

“The treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention remains a human rights priority for the UK. We will continue to call upon Israel to improve its practices in line with international law and obligations.”

Tamimi and her mother, Nariman, were sentenced on March 21 to eight months in prison and a fine of $1500 each - Tamimi for slapping a soldier in her home village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah on December 15, and Nariman for filming and posting the incident on social media, which went viral. The two were arrested on December 19, when Tamimi was still 16 years of age.

Amnesty International (AI) had condemned the sentencing as “a flagrant attempt to intimidate those who dare challenge the circumstances of the ongoing occupation.”

AI’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and Africa, Magdalena Mughrabi, said following the Israeli military court ruling that “by sentencing Ahed to eight months in prison the Israeli authorities have confirmed yet again that they have no regard for the rights of Palestinian children, and have no intention to reverse their discriminatory policies.”

“Today’s sentence is another alarming example of the Israeli authorities’ contempt for their obligations to protect the basic rights of Palestinians living under their occupation, especially children. Ahed Tamimi is a minor. Nothing she did warrants her continued imprisonment and she must be released immediately.”

Hundreds of Palestinian children are prosecuted every year through Israeli juvenile military courts. Those arrested are systematically denied their rights and subjected to ill-treatment including in some cases physical violence, said AI. There are currently approximately 350 Palestinian children in Israeli detention.

M.K.