Bassem at-Tamimi, the head of the Popular Committee Against the Wall & Settlements in an-Nabi Saleh, has been arrested by the Israeli military on Thursday.At-Tamimi was preparing to meet with foreign diplomats when the Israeli military raided the home, assaulting his wife Nariman as she attempted to record the arrest on video, according to Israeli journalist Joseph Dana.
Tamimi was repeatedly kidnapped and imprisoned by the Israeli army.
The arrest follows the detention of 14 year old Islam at-Tamimi, two months ago who, it is alleged, gave coerced confession that he had thrown stones at the Israeli military during the regular Friday protest held in the village.
The actions mirror the imprisonment of Abdullah Abu Rahme, a school teacher and head of the Popular Committee in the village of Bi’lin, who was convicted to 16 months under similar charges following another case of alleged coerced confession from a child.
Abu Rahme’s conviction was widely condemned, including by Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, who called Abu Rahme a “human rights defender”.
