A 16-year-old Palestinian girl, hailed as a hero by Palestinians for hitting and kicking Israeli soldiers outside her home, will remain in detention until the end of her trial for alleged assault, an Israeli military court ruled on Wednesday. Ahed Tamimi, who turned 17 in jail last month, arrived on Tuesday morning for the first day of what could be a months-long trial, in what has become a symbolic case in the battle for international public opinion. A seven-page indictment lists 12 charges against the 16-year-old.On December 15, Tamimi and her family were protesting against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.A video, which has since gone viral, shows the unarmed teenage girl slapping, kicking, and shoving two armed Israeli soldiers who were wearing protective gear.On December 19, her home was raided by Israeli soldiers at night. The altercation with soldiers happened shortly after Tamimi's cousin was shot in the head with a rubber bullet during a demonstration as he climbed a wall of a complex that Israeli soldiers had commandeered, according to Bassem Tamimi, Ahed's father, who is a well-known leader of protests in his village. This video, published by the Haaretz newspaper, shows Ahed being brought into the military court on Tuesday:

Commenting on the judge’s claim that the court session was closed for Ahed’s own good, the teenager’s lawyer Gaby Lasky told media, “I think that the [judge] does not think it is good for the court.”

Haaretz commentator Anshel Pfeffer praised the judge’s order as a “stroke of genius” that would “prevent the court from becoming a media circus and providing Tamimi, her family, lawyers and activists with a convenient opportunity to put the occupation on trial.”

Ahed Tamimi was detained in a night raid in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh almost two months ago, after video circulated showing her and a cousin slapping and shoving two heavily armed Israeli soldiers following an incident in which a soldier had shot in the head and seriously injured their 15-year-old cousin Muhammad Tamimi.
In closed-door proceedings at an Israeli military court in Ofer Prison, near Ramallah, 17-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi is indicted on 12 counts of assault and incitement. She is ordered held until the end of the trial, which is adjourned until next month.