RAMALLAH, April 18 (JMCC) - An organizer of protests in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh will be jailed until the end of his trial, ruled an Israeli military court Sunday.
Bassem Tamimi, 44, will be tried largely on the basis of a 14-year-old's testimony. He is charged with incitement, organizing unpermitted marches, solicitation to throw stones, refusing to report for questioning, and obstructing justice,
reports Joseph Dana.
As one of the organizers of the Nabi Saleh protests and coordinator of the village’s popular committee, Tamimi has been the target of harsh treatment by the Israeli army. Since demonstrations began in the village, his house has been raided and ransacked numerous times, his wife was arrested twice and two of his sons were injured – Wa’ed, 14, was hospitalized for five days after a rubber-coated bullet penetrated his leg and Mohammed, 8, was injured by a tear-gas projectile that was shot directly at him and hit him in the shoulder. Shortly after demonstrations in the village began, the Israeli Civil Administration served ten demolition orders to structures located in Area C, Tamimi’s house was one of them, despite the fact that it was built in 1965 and expended already in the year 2003.
Tamimi's trial will begin on May 8.