Activists Rush To Defense Of W. Bank Palestinian Family

Palestinian and foreign activists on Sunday set up a tent to express solidarity with the Al-Tamimi family – which has been threatened with arrest by the Israeli army – in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.



On Friday, Anadolu Agency witnessed an Israeli soldier attempting to arrest 12-year-old Mohamed al-Tamimi, while Israeli troops forcibly dispersed a weekly march staged in Nabi Saleh against the Israeli occupation.



The soldier beat the boy savagely before the latter was finally freed following the intervention of several Palestinian women and children.



Following the incident, a request was reportedly submitted to the Israeli police for the arrest of the Al-Tamimi family, accusing them of "assaulting" the soldier as he tried to arrest the boy.



On Sunday, dozens of activists set up the tent near the home of Basem al-Tamimi, the child's father.



"We erected the tent in solidarity with – and in defense of – the Al-Tamimi family, which is now being threatened with arrest," Palestinian activist Mohamed al-Tamimi told Anadolu Agency. "But we will not allow them to take any member of the family."



The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, has strongly condemned the soldier's assault on the boy.



"These repeated crimes against Palestinian children reflect the extent of ethical bankruptcy reached by the occupation army," the ministry asserted in a statement. - Filistin