Israel Tries a Palestinian Teen Behind Closed Doors

FEATURING HUWAIDA ARRAF- Seventeen-year old Ahed Tamimi and her mother – prominent Palestinian activists – are being tried in an Israeli court behind closed doors. The teenager, who was arrested when she was 16, has spent months in prison after being captured on video responding with anger to an Israeli soldier who had just shot her cousin in the face.

Tamimi’s case has captured the attention of the press and activists worldwide. Her trial comes at the same time that Israel is considering a controversial “Jewish nation-state” bill that will enshrine inequality between Jews and non-Jews. Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, notorious for her disdain for Palestinian rights, said in a public speech on Monday, “There is place to maintain a Jewish majority even at the price of violation of rights.”

Shaked has been widely viewed as a potential future President. And that position may soon be vacant as current President Benjamin Netanyahu is facing corruption charges of having accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes.

Huwaida Arraf, Palestinian American human rights activist, lawyer and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. She is also the former Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and currently the Palestine and Refugees correspondent for Rising Up With Sonali.