Israeli court extends custody of Palestinian girl hero

An Israeli military court has extended the custody of a famous teenage Palestinian protester, as well as that of her mother and cousin, after they were arrested over viral footage which showed them fighting fully-armed Israeli soldiers.

On Monday, Ofer military court ruled that Ahed Tamimi, 17, her mother Nariman Tamimi, 43, and her cousin Nour Naji Tamimi, 21, would remain in custody until Thursday.

Ahed became the latest face of Palestinian resistance when footage emerged of her slapping one and then another fully-armed Israeli officer in the face during a protest in her home village of Nabi Saleh, near the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Israeli forces had earlier shot her cousin in the face. During a confrontation that reportedly erupted over that shooting, Ahed, recognizable since young age by her blond curly hair as well as her courageous posture, slapped and kicked two Israeli forces while protesting.

Faced with embarrassment as that video went viral, Israelis decided to arrest Ahed. They went on to take her into custody last week. According to some accounts, 20 Israeli army Jeeps arrived at Ahed's house before dawn to arrest her.

Footage appeared later of her ransacked room, with her belongings strewn across the room, her bed mattress overturned, and her closets emptied on the floor.

In the footage, a window can be seen with what seems to be a bullet hole.

Ahed was arrested along with her mother, Nariman, who has been nabbed five times before, including for filming her children and other youths protesting against Israel.

An Israeli columnist, reportedly notorious for his radicalism, has called for the punishment of the duo away from the public eye, in what Palestinian and other media suggest is a tacit encouragement of sexual abuse and even rape.

“We should exact a price at some other opportunity, in the dark, without witnesses and cameras,” Ben Caspit wrote. “The Tamimi family has to learn, the hard way, that such systematic provocations” come at a great cost.

The Tamimi family are known for their strong resistance against Israeli forces in the small Nabi Saleh Village.

Since young age, Ahed has been filmed and photographed audaciously confronting Israeli forces. In one video, Ahed and her parents speak of their desire for freedom from occupation and "injustice."

In another  footage, she can be seen, along with other children from her village, appearing right in front of the sniper rifle barrel of an Israeli soldier lying on the ground aiming and ready to shoot to block him.

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