Israel extends detention of Ahed Tamimi and her mother

Israel’s Ofer military court today extended the detention of the Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi and her mother until 11 March.

The judge passed down the ruling in a closed session, in which only a few members of the family were allowed to attend.

On 19 December 2017 Israeli forces arrested the then 16-year-old during a night raid on her house in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. A video of Ahed confronting occupation forces who had been stationed on her family’s land had gone viral on social media.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman vowed to arrest and punish the Palestinian child and all those who appeared with her in the video; her mother and her cousin.

Read: Judge orders closed trial for Ahed Tamimi

Amnesty International has called on the Israeli authorities to release Ahed, who has been in prison for nearly a month. While an international petition calling for her released has gathered support from Hollywood celebrities, academics and human rights activists.