As a social media campaign demanding the release of Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi gains momentum, ANC MP Mandla Mandela has denounced the ill treatment of Palestinian children resisting Zionist occupation. The activist, who recently visited Palestine, has expressed his outrage over the arrest and detention of 17 year old activist from the well-known Tamimi family. Ahed was arrested on Tuesday when Israeli occupation soldiers swooped into their home in Nabi Saleh village at 4am and removed her from her bed. Ahed’s mother, Narriman and her cousin Nour have since been arrested as well.

“We call on UNICEF and Amnesty International to take immediate action against apartheid Israel and to ensure that the Palestinian children incarcerated in Israeli jails are immediately released. The victimisation of the Tamimi family, in particular, must stop,” said Mandela in a statement.

Ahed’s arrest follows a video, which has since gone viral, showing her slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier outside her home last Friday. Her anger was sparked after Israeli soldiers shot her 15 year old cousin Muhammad Tamimi in the head with a rubber bullet, which left him unconscious. The Tamimi family and their Palestinian neighbours have for the past few years held protests in Nabi Saleh every Friday against Israeli occupation.

Mandela has called on the South African government to voice their objection to the arrest of the Tamimi’s.

“It was my conscionable view that the only moral thing to do in the face of the cruelty and brutality that Israel is meting out to hundreds of young teenagers such as Ahed Tamimi on a daily basis was to send the Israeli Ambassador home and shutdown all diplomatic, trade and cultural ties.”

Meanwhile, the Shamsaan Foundation, which hosted the Tamimi family in South Africa in August, has launched the “Free Ahed Tamimi and all child prisoners’ campaign.

“16 year old Ahed has chosen to remain silent as she faces the Israeli military’s terrifying interrogation tactics. We need to dfend the Miranda Rights of all child detainees who are under the Israeli military court system, notorious for the systematic ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children to extract confessions,” said Shamsaan on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Janna.Jihad/videos/1576164025803847/

To support the campaign:
– take a photo or video covering your mouth (with your hand, tape or keffiyeh)
– upload onto on social media and tag us Shamsaan – Facebook https://m.facebook.com/2SunsShamsaan/ and Instagram @2sunsshamsaan
– Use the hashtags #FreeAhedTamimi #FreeAllChildPrisoners #MirandaRights
– Or whatsapp the photo to +27 76 389 4755