Israeli troops arrest Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi in West Bank

NABI SALEH, West Bank: Israeli troops arrested a Palestinian activist, regarded in the occupied West Bank as a hero since she was a teenager, on suspicion of inciting violence, but her mother denied the claim and said it was based on a fake Instagram post.

The Israeli military said it apprehended Ahed Tamimi, 22, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. Tamimi rose to prominence in 2017 when, at age 16, she slapped an Israeli soldier who raided her village. She and others have for years protested Israeli land seizures.

Tamimi “is suspected of inciting violence and calling for terrorist activity to be carried out,” the military said.

Her mother, Nariman Tamimi, said more than a dozen Israeli soldiers entered their house overnight and arrested her daughter.

Israeli authorities alleged the young woman “wrote an inciting post calling for the killing of settlers and saying what Hitler did wasn’t enough – but Ahed does not have an Instagram account,” her mother said in an interview.

Some Israeli media outlets published a screenshot of what appeared to be an Instagram post by an account with Tamimi’s name and picture. The text threatened to “slaughter” Israel’s West Bank settlers.

After slapping the soldier, Tamimi was sentenced to eight months in prison upon pleading guilty to reduced charges that included assault.

She is one of hundreds in the territory who have been detained as violence has flared over the past month between Israel and Gaza fighters.

Israel says its West Bank arrests are aimed in part at thwarting attacks, as it wages a ground assault against Hamas fighters following a deadly October 7 rampage in Israel.

Violence has also flared in the West Bank, which has seen regular clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians. Since October 7, Israeli troops have killed at least 141 Palestinians in the territory, including 43 children, according to UN figures.