OFER PRISON: A teenage Palestinian girl who was filmed kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank accepted a plea deal on Wednesday under which she will be sentenced to eight months in prison.

Ahed Tamimi, 17, became a hero to Palestinians after the Dec 15 incident outside her home in the village of Nabi Saleh was streamed live on Facebook by her mother and went viral.

The soldiers had deployed during a weekly Palestinian protest in the village against Israeli policy on settlements in the West Bank, one of the most heated issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Tamimi was 16 at the time of the offence. Her trial began last month and she faced 12 charges, including aggravated assault.

“No justice under occupation!” Tamimi, handcuffed and shackled, shouted out to reporters at court in the Ofer military prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Tamimi’s attorney Gaby Lasky said that under the deal approved by the court, Tamimi will plead guilty to a reduced charge-sheet that includes assault and would be sentenced to eight months in jail and pay a fine of 5,000 shekels (about $1,430). The Israeli military confirmed the details of the deal.

Lasky said the jail term included the time Tamimi has spent in detention since her arrest in December.

Tamimi’s case drew global attention. Amnesty International called her the “Rosa Parks of Palestine”, and the small courtroom was often packed with journalists, diplomats and international observers during hearings.

A group of American cultural figures, including actors Danny Glover and Rosario Dawson and novelist Alice Walker, signed a petition calling for her release and comparing her case to those of “the children of immigrants and communities of colour who face police brutality in the United States”.

Tamimi’s family are veterans of protests against an Israeli settlement near their home.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2018