Soldier Bitten By Palestinian Girl Now Accused Of Ruining Her Teeth

Amnesty International challenged the necessity and legality of the soldier’s action when the clear alternative of having the girl bite a softer, less damaging body part was so readily available.

Nabi Saleh, September 3 – The man whose teenage daughter was filmed biting an Israeli soldier who tried to arrest her brother for throwing stones, says the confrontation left her needing braces, and that the IDF is responsible.

Basem Tamimi’s thirteen-year-old daughter Ahed joined several other women in attacking an Israeli soldier who had the boy in a headlock in an effort to detain him for throwing stones. Ahed and the others set upon the soldier, and their combined efforts thwarted the arrest. The episode was recorded on video and shared widely, with predictable contradictory interpretations put forth by partisans of the opposing sides. However, the video clips did not show the apparent damage to Ahed’s teeth that resulted from the fracas, and Basem says he will send the dentist’s bill directly to the Israeli government.

“The brutality of the Occupation extends even to a teenager’s teeth and gums,” said Basem, who has become adept at casting his telegenic daughter in the role of noble, courageous victim for scripted provocations of Israeli troops. “The merciless, unyielding flesh of that war criminal soldier maimed my beautiful daughter’s beautiful teeth, and she now requires orthodontia to correct that blemish,” he told reporters.

Several human rights organizations have rushed to amplify Tamimi’s accusation. “The unconscionable act of damaging a young girl’s teeth by causing her to bite a soldier shows once again that the Occupation must end for dignity to be restored to the Palestinians,” wrote Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch. “Decades of international opprobrium have toughened Israelis’ skin, the predictable consequence of which is the mangling of teeth that attempt to bite that skin. The IDF cannot claim ignorance of this phenomenon, and therefore bears direct responsibility for this dental crime.”

Amnesty International called for an investigation into what it called “rampant disregard for Palestinian orthodontic needs,” and, in a statement, described the ruining of Ahed’s previously straight teeth a war crime. It called on the international community to put a stop to Israel’s manifestly disproportionate responses to such attacks. “We challenge the necessity and legality of the soldier’s action when the clear alternative of having the girl bite a softer, less damaging body part was so readily available.”

An Israeli military spokesman dismissed the allegations. “To tell you the truth I’m surprised by the inanity of the accusation,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with policy. “By now we’ve come to expect more creativity in these kinds of allegations.”

“Here, I’ve got a better one,” he suggested. “Invoke the popular theme of Jews as the source of moral corruption in the world, and adduce these videos as proof that the evil Zionists befoul the innocence of Muslim women through sinister schemes to cause them to put their hands all over the bodies of Jewish men.”

At press time, Palestinian Authority TV was airing a segment on that theme.