NABI SALEH, West Bank – Palestinian protest icon Ahed Tamimi returned home to a hero's welcome in her West Bank village on Sunday after Israel released the 17-year-old from prison at the end of her eight-month sentence for slapping and kicking Israeli soldiers.
Ahed and her mother, Nariman Tamimi, were greeted with banners, cheers and Palestinian flags as they entered the home village of Nabi Saleh.
Ahed was arrested in December after she slapped two Israeli soldiers outside her family home. Her mother filmed the incident and posted it on Facebook, where it went viral and, for many, instantly turned Ahed into a symbol of resistance to Israel's half-century-old military rule over the Palestinians. With her unruly mop of curly light-colored hair, the Palestinian teen quickly became an icon and an internationally recognizable figure.
In Israel, however, she is seen by many as either as a provocateur, an irritation or a threat to the military's deterrence policy.
In Nabi Saleh, supporters welcomed Tamimi home with Palestinian flags planted on the roof of her home. Hundreds of chairs were set up for well-wishers in the courtyard.
"The resistance continues until the occupation is removed," Ahed said upon her return. "All the female prisoners are steadfast. I salute everyone who supported me and my case."
From her home, Ahed headed to a visit to the grave of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Her father, Bassem Tamimi, said he expects her to take a lead in the struggle against Israeli occupation but she is also weighing college options.
In a sign of her popularity, a pair of Italian artists painted a large mural of her on Israel's West Bank separation barrier ahead of her release. Israeli police say they were caught in the act along with another Palestinian and arrested for vandalism.
Ahed was 16 when she was arrested and turned 17 in custody. Her case has trained a spotlight on the detention of Palestinian minors by Israel, a practice that has been criticized by international rights groups. Some 300 minors are currently being held, according to Palestinian figures.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians are increasingly disillusioned about efforts to establish a state in those territories, after more than two decades of failed negotiations with Israel.