The military court in Judea on Monday sentenced the brother of Ahed Tamimi, 17, of Nabi Saleh, Vaad Tamimi, 21, to 14 months in prison for throwing stones at a Border Policeman. Tamimi was convicted in a plea bargain after having been in detention since May. His detention time will be deducted from his sentence.
His younger sister became a symbols of privileged Arab youth who take advantage of the IDF strict rules of engagement struggle, when she was videotaped slapping and kicking two IDF soldiers who restrained themselves from smacking her across her face for fear of being court martialed. She served eight months in prison.
In the plea bargain, her older brother confessed to throwing stones at a border policeman in March 2017. His conviction follows a 12-month suspended sentence Tamimi had received in January 2016. He will now serve the original sentence as well.
In Monday’s ruling, the Vice President of the Military Court in Judea, Lt. Col. Rani Amer, related that in an incident in a spring near Nabi Saleh, “clashes began between Palestinian youths and Israeli settlers. The security forces present at the site began using riot control measures to prevent the clashes … In response to the disturbance, three military vehicles entered Nabi Saleh. Three of those involved in the case blocked the path of the military vehicles with large stones … One of the stuck vehicles, belonging to the Border Police, crossed the barricade and waited at the petrol station at the entrance to the village for security forces to return. Border Policeman Amir M stood outside the vehicle, securing it.”
At this point, according to the ruling, many local Arabs had gathered around the vehicle, including Tamimi. “Afterwards, the defendant and other rioters noticed that the policemen’s supply of crowd dispersing had been exhausted,” the judge continued. “That’s when the defendant and other rioters started to throw stones at the vehicle. The policeman entered the stuck vehicle but could not close the door, which allowed the defendant, who stood at the door of the policeman’s car, and the other rioters, to throw stones inside the stuck vehicle … As a result of the defendant’s and the rest of the rioters’ actions, many stones hit the policeman. One of the stones hit his helmet, he was injured in the hands and his right hand became swollen.”
The judge wrote in his ruling that the plea bargain was appropriate in his opinion and sentenced Tamimi to eight months in prison for this incident, plus 12 months from the suspended sentence. The judge then decided that Tamimi serve six out of the 20 months concurrently, bringing the final count to 14 months – minus time served since May.
Tamimi was also fined NIS 7,000 ($1,922.94).