Palestinian teen held for slapping soldiers released after 8-month jail

Israel's Prison Service said Sunday it released Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi jailed after she was captured on video slapping two Israeli soldiers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service said Tamimi, 17, was released after she finished serving her eight-month sentence. The spokesperson said that Ahed Tamimi's mother, Nariman Tamimi, was released with her.

The army was transferring both of them to the West Bank on Sunday morning, the spokesperson said.

Tamimi became an "international icon" of the Palestinian protest against the Israeli control over their lands.

On Dec. 15, Tamimi was caught on video footage kicking and slapping two soldiers outside her home in the West Bank village of Nabil Saleh. The footage went viral on social networks, triggering rage in Israel and calls to punish the girl.

Meanwhile, Palestinians hailed Tamimi as a hero and an icon of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation. Her trial, which was held behind closed doors, triggered an international campaign to free the girl.

Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and controlled it ever since, despite international criticism.