Israeli Military Court Extends Detentions of Ahed Tamimi and Family members

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Israelis, including settlers, are governed by civil laws, Occupied Palestinians by hundreds of oppressive military orders, covering virtually everything affecting their lives and well-being.

When arrested, Palestinians face military judges in military courts, enduring rubber-stamp proceedings against them, flagrantly violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Its Article 2 states everyone has the "right (to effective remedy through a) competent judicial, administrative or legislative (authority), or by any other competent authority provided for the legal system of the State (to) ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce (judicial) remed(ies)."

Article 14 states:

"All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals (and) shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law. (They're) "presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law."

They're entitled to competent counsel to meet with privately in confidence. Acquittals are rare for Palestinians in judicial proceedings, guilt by accusation standard practice.

Many Palestinians are administratively detained uncharged and untried, at times held indefinitely, virtually always for political reasons, based on phony secret evidence withheld from defendants' lawyers.

On Christmas day, Israeli Ofer military court extended the unlawful detentions of 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi, her mother Nariman and cousin Nour for four days - ahead of another military court appearance on December 29, perhaps at the time to be administratively detained for six months, subject to repeated renewals.

After yesterday's hearing, a Free the Tamimi Women Facebook page reported the ruling, explaining Israeli soldiers raided their Nabi Saleh village late on Christmas night, saying:

"Soldiers invaded Nour's home, and attacked her family. When Nour's father, Naji, opened the door, the soldiers beat him with their rifle butts in the head and chest. The house was turned inside out in search for nothing," adding:

"(T)wo other houses in the village were raided and searched, and Israel's army abducted two young men."

Bilal Tamimi said "this systematic terrorism targeting the Tamimi family in Nabi Saleh increases our strength and perseverance to continue our struggle - which we have done with our blood and with our prisoners and the groans of our wounded - until victory and liberation."

A Free the Tamimi Women question asked: "What would you do if soldiers with guns invaded your own?"

They usually surround targeted homes pre-dawn, breaking in violently, terrorizing family members, traumatizing young children, ransacking the premises, vandalizing them, arresting one or more Palestinians, brutalizing them.

This is how all fascist police states operate - Israel one of the worst. Ahed became internationally prominent at age-14 through a video and photos, showing her attempt to rescue her injured 11-year-old brother, oppressively seized by an Israeli soldier.

Later she explained that "(m)any Israelis threatened me on social media after the video was released, demanding that I be detained or even killed," adding:

At the time, "(t)he harassment handcuffed my life. I was scared to even go outside or visit my friends."

Yet from age-10, she courageously participated in weekly Friday Nabi Saleh protests.

She said media reports "helped us, because my voice and our message were spread throughout the world." As a teenager, she became a symbol and head of her village protests, home for about 600 residents.

At age-16, she's the poster child symbol of courageous Palestinian resistance against ruthless Israeli occupation - why she's a marked youth, notably mature and redoubtable for her age.

Harassment followed her rise to prominence. Israelis disgracefully call her a "terrorist" on social media. Family members get death threats.

Her father Bassem said "(w)henever soldiers recognize her, they do something to make her life difficult. Every time she left the house, we were scared something would happen to her."

He's been arrested and imprisoned numerous times, reportedly again after Ahed's arrest and detention. Nariman was detained five previous times, again now.

Since 2010, their home has been raided violently scores of times, the village nearly every day, its land increasingly confiscated.

Over a dozen homes have pending demolition orders. Bassem calls what's going on "silent ethnic cleansing."

Nariman earlier said "(i)magine someone controlling every decision in your life. It's like being locked in a room with no oxygen. It's not just about the checkpoints. As long as the occupation exists, we can't be free."

She, her husband Bassem, cousin Nour and Ahed remain unlawfully detained, likely to be extended for months or longer.

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