Additional Slapping Incident at Trial of Palestinian Teen

The trial of a Palestinian teenager who pled guilty to charges of assaulting an Israeli soldier was the scene of another violent outburst on Wednesday, this time a supporter of the defendant, who slapped a military prosecutor in the courtroom.

Officers were called into the hearing to arrest the woman who slapped the prosecutor at the Ofer Military Court, where Ahed Tamimi was on trial, a police spokesman said.

Ahed Tamimi, 17, faced 12 charges, including aggravated assault.

Her lawyer said that under the plea agreement, Tamimi would plead guilty to a reduced charge sheet and would be sentenced to eight months in jail.

Tamimi’s mother, Nariman, and a cousin were also arrested. Both have also accepted plea bargains, a family lawyer said, according to Reuters.

The case attracted considerable notoriety, as Palestinians tried to make her into a hero and the Israeli right said that IDF soldiers cannot be abused with impunity.

“The honor of Israel’s army cannot be trampled” Israeli Culture minister Miri Regev said. “We cannot have a situation in which soldiers are humiliated and hit and they do not act at that moment and arrest those who hurt them.”

The army said the soldier “acted professionally” by showing restraint.