She maybe little, and just a young girl. But her action speaks a lot louder than words.
In the land considered holy by three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Palestine houses important religious sites such as the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Dome of the Rock. Beside its heritage, the abundance of olive oil and beautiful landscape, Palestine is also known for its resilience.
Especially towards Israel.
And Ahed Tamimi, who grew up in Nabi Saleh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, lives in a world that is harsher than what most of the world experiences.
And she managed to land a slap that echoes throughout the world, and the internet.
Ahed Tamimi was born in 2001, and has been an activist almost all her life.
She has been involved in various protests and political agitation, where she and others expressed their opposition to the expansion of Israeli settlements and detention of Palestinians.
The first time she became a role model to the Palestinians, was when she tried to intervene when her mother was arrested in 2012. At the time 11-year-old Tamimi was commended by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas himself, and later caught the media's attention, and became an international sensation.
The image of her waving a fist while confronting an Israeli soldier went viral on social media.
She was even invited to Türkiye by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Among others, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, who also invited her to visit Tunis, said that Tamimi's action is a "form of recognition for the fight and sacrifices by several generations of Palestinians."
Other notable names who praised Tamimi, also include the former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
Tamimi again made headlines three years later, when she was seen biting and hitting an Israeli soldier when he was taking her younger brother away because he was throwing stones at them.
But what made her the brightest star of Palestine, was in December 15, 2017.
At the time, the IDF soldiers were confronting some Palestinian men, who were opposing the Israeli's settlements nearby. The protest became violent, and the Israeli had to use force to both defend themselves from the stones hurled at them, and to subdue the attackers.
This was when Tamimi confronted an Israeli soldier, and slapped him.
While the soldier didn't retaliate, that very slap represents her hatred towards the Israel, a common enemy with her fellow Palestinians.
Nothing happened at first, but after the footage of Tamimi slapping the soldier went viral after it was uploaded to Facebook, this was the time the Israeli fought back.
Tamimi was arrested in a raid that happened at night.
Despite being a young girl, the Israeli's government was concerned about using the court for charging a minor, who may have been singled out for "embarrassing the occupation." Regardless, Tamimi was later charged with assault, incitement, and throwing stones.
Tamimi's mother, Nariman Tamimi, was also charged with incitement and assault, and that she was charged after posting her daughter slapping the video to the internet.
The indictment claims Tamimi urged violent attacks against Israel.
It was on March 2018, that Tamimi agreed to a plea bargain with prosecutors whereby she would serve eight months in prison and pay a 5,000 Israeli new shekel (~$1,400) fine.
As an eager young girl, during her time serving prison time, she earned her high school degree, and later, reached the age 18.
She was released on 29 July, where she used that moment to study law and "hold the occupation accountable."
Tamimi again had to deal with the Israeli, when her father, Bassem Tamimi, was arrested and placed under administrative detention following Hamas' surprise attack on October 7th.
She too was arrested, in connection to an Instagram post that called for a violent massacre of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, referencing the mass killings carried out by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime during World War II, which is later commonly referred to as the Holocaust.
The Israeli claimed that the post was posted through her account, in which she denied the allegation.
Fortunately, Tamimi was released on November 29.
She was one of 30 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel as part of the truce deal with Hamas.
She was released from the Damon Prison, located near the Israeli city of Haifa, after more than a month, and returned to the West Bank to her family.
Tamimi has been hailed by pro-Palestinian activists as a symbol of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.
For such a young girl, her bravery was forged strong, and because of that, she became Palestine's heroine.
To some people, Tamimi is the modern-day Joan of Arc. She's the "Shirley Temper," the star of the Palestinian propaganda.
Her name was also mentioned in a poem by an Israeli poet, which said that she, the "red-haired" woman, should be counted among the likes of Hannah Senesh and Anne Frank.
She also became memes, and even murals were created for her.
She was also featured in a documentary, and that her story also inspired the creation of a drama film that competed at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Tamimi also has a memoir titled They Called Me a Lioness, released in 2022.
