Israel releases parents of Palestinian boy who was subject of failed arrest by soldier

The Tamimi family have gained worldwide notoriety for stopping an Israeli soldier from arresting their 12-year-old son Mohamed

Palestinian women fight to free a Palestinian boy held by an Israeli soldier (C) during clashes (AFP)

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Israel on Tuesday briefly arrested then released Palestinian activist Basil al-Tamimi, the father of 12-year-old Mohamed al-Tamimi, who was filmed last week being restrained during an attempted arrest by an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank.

“The Israeli army arrested Basil and his wife, Nariman, as they tried to cross an army checkpoint at the entrance of Nabi Saleh village north of Ramallah,” Bassam al-Tamimi, another Palestinian activist, told Anadolu Agency. 

“Soldiers arrested Basil and his wife and prevented us from communicating with them.”

A family member later posted to Facebook that the couple had been released by Israeli authorities.

On Friday an Israeli soldier was filmed attempting to arrest 12-year-old Mohamed al-Tamimi at a protest against illegal settlements near the village of Nabi Saleh.

Three members of the Tamimi family intervened to attack the soldier, who eventually left the scene without detaining the boy.

Video footage of the incident was viewed millions of times around the world. The soldier was “lightly wounded” according to Israeli daily Haaretz.

After the incident, a request was reportedly submitted to the Israeli police for the arrest of the Tamimi family, who were accused of “assaulting” the soldier.

The Tamimi family told Middle East Eye on Saturday that similar incidents are commonplace in the West Bank.