UPDATES WITH AL-TAMIMI'S GRATITUDE
By Sarp Ozer
ANKARA (AA) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke over the phone with teenaged Palestinian resistance icon Ahed al-Tamimi on Sunday and congratulated her on her release from an Israeli prison, according to a presidential source.
Earlier, al-Tamimi and her mother were released by Israeli authorities after an eight-month long detention.
Erdogan praised her bravery and determination to fight, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said.
The resistance icon’s mother Nariman al-Tamimi was also with her on the phone when the president spoke, the source added.
Erdogan assured the family that Turkey’s support for Palestine’s just fight would continue.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, al-Tamimi said she thanked President Erdogan. “His call is a great support for us. I thank President Erdogan and the Turkish nation, who always stand with Palestinian people.
“I am grateful to everyone who supports our cause to beat the occupation. ”
She also said that there is a possibility of her rearrest by Israeli forces.
“Everyone, who chose the path of resistance, will be exposed to arrests. I know that, ” she said.
Al-Tamimi became an international icon for Palestinian resistance after she was filmed slapping an Israeli soldier during a raid on her home to arrest her brother.
Israeli forces arrested the Palestinian girl in December 2017 after a viral video showed her slapping an Israeli soldier; later an Israeli court handed down an eight-month long sentence in March for her “attack” on an Israeli soldier.
Following her release, a defiant al-Tamimi thanked all her supporters who stood by her and her family during her detention.
“The Palestinian prisoners are in high spirit and I carry a message from them that I will reveal this evening,” al-Tamimi said.
In 2012, Istanbul’s Basaksehir Municipality had granted al-Tamimi the prestigious Hanzala Courage Award for defying Israeli soldiers after she was photographed showing her tiny fists to the occupying forces.
*Esat Firat in Ramallah contributed to the report.
