- By Sam Hancock & Lou Newton
- BBC News
Ahed Tamimi, 22, was seen reuniting with her mother in Ramallah in the West Bank
Activist Ahed Tamimi was one of 30 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on Wednesday, as part of the truce deal with Hamas.
Israel’s prison service said a mixture of men and women had been freed “from a number of [its] facilities”.
Ms Tamimi, 22, was arrested earlier this month over an Instagram post, which her family say she did not write.
As of Wednesday night, 102 hostages have been freed, while 210 Palestinian prisoners have been released.
Images showed Ms Tamimi, who had been held in Damon Prison, near the Israeli city of Haifa, returned to the West Bank late on Wednesday.
The prominent activist was pictured having an emotional reunion with her mother.
Other prisoners, whose names have not yet been shared, were also seen reuniting with family members.
The social media post Ms Tamimi was detained over is no longer visible online, nor is the account it came from, which carried her name and photo.
Israeli media reported that she had threatened to “slaughter” Jewish settlers, but her mother said the account did not belong to her daughter.
“There are dozens of [online] pages in Ahed’s name with her photo, with which she has no connection,” she told AFP news agency at the time of her arrest.
Israel’s military told AFP she was arrested on suspicion of “inciting violence and terrorist activities”.
As a teenager, Ms Tamimi became a symbol of resistance to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
When she was 14 years old she was photographed biting an Israeli soldier who was trying to detain her younger brother.
Her father, Bassem Tamimi, is an activist who used to regularly organise protests against the Israeli occupation and has been repeatedly jailed.
Ms Tamimi is one of hundreds of Palestinians who have been arrested in the West Bank since 7 October, when Hamas gunmen from Gaza attacked southern Israel.
Israel says the arrests have been made to limit violence during a time when unrest has surged in the West Bank.
On Thursday, three Israelis were killed when two Hamas gunmen opened fire at a crowded bus stop in West Jerusalem during morning rush hour.
The two attackers had come from occupied East Jerusalem.
16 Israelis were injured and the attackers were killed by police and an armed civilian.
The Israeli military said explosive devices were thrown at its soldiers and that they responded with live fire.
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Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
