Bassem Tamimi

Bassem Tamimi
Bornc. 1967 (age 56–57)
NationalityPalestinian
Known for
SpouseNariman Tamimi
Children4, including Ahed Tamimi

Bassem Tamimi (also Bassem al-Tamimi; Arabic: باسم التميمي; born c. 1967)[1] is a Palestinian grassroots activist and an organizer of protests against Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. He was convicted by an Israeli military court in 2012 (after being arrested in 2011) for "sending people to throw stones, and holding a march without a permit".[1][2]

In his West Bank village Nabi Salih, Tamimi organizes weekly demonstrations against Israeli settlement. He has been arrested by the Israeli authorities over a dozen times, at one point spending more than three years in administrative detention without trial. Tamimi has said that he advocates grassroots, nonviolent resistance, but has also said that stone-throwing is an important symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation.[4] His 2011 arrest drew international attention, with the European Union describing him as a human rights defender,[1] and Amnesty International designating him a prisoner of conscience.[1][3] He was arrested again in October 2012 for a demonstration in a supermarket, but released in early 2013. Three weeks after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, on 29 October 2023, Tamimi was again placed under administrative detention. On expiry of the term in April 2024, he was again remanded for detention for a further six months.

He is the father of Ahed Tamimi, who was sentenced to eight months in prison under a plea bargain in 2018.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Israel convicts Palestinian protest leader". Fox News. Associated Press. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b Steve Weizman (20 May 2012). "West Bank activist Tamimi convicted of stoning charge". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NYTP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Palestinian activist aims to ‘start an intifada against Israel in the US’, Times of Israel, 6 October 2015
  5. ^ Bassem Tamimi (2017-12-24). "Ahed Tamimi's Father: We Will Continue To Resist Israel's Occupation As A Family". Newsweek. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  6. ^ Ahed Tamimi sentenced to 8 months in prison in plea deal, YNET, 21 March 2018