Erdoğan congratulates Palestinian teen resistance icon

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke over the phone with teenaged Palestinian resistance icon Ahed al-Tamimi on Sunday and congratulated her on her release from an Israeli prison, according to a presidential source.

Earlier, al-Tamimi and her mother were released by Israeli authorities after an eight-month long detention.

Erdoğan praised her bravery and determination to fight, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said.

Ahed's mother Nariman al-Tamimi was also with her on the phone when the president spoke, the source added.

Erdoğan assured the family that Turkey's support for Palestinian's just fight would continue.

Al-Tamimi became an international icon for Palestinian resistance after she was filmed slapping an Israeli soldier during a raid on her home to arrest her brother.

Israeli forces arrested the Palestinian girl in December 2017 after a viral video showed her slapping an Israeli soldier; later an Israeli court handed down an eight-month long sentence in March for her "attack" on an Israeli soldier.

Following her release, a defiant al-Tamimi thanked all her supporters who stood by her and her family during her detention.

"The Palestinian prisoners are in high spirit and I carry a message from them that I will reveal this evening," al-Tamimi said.

In 2012, Istanbul's Başakşehir Municipality had granted al-Tamimi the prestigious Hanzala Courage Award for defying Israeli soldiers after she was photographed showing her tiny fists to the occupying forces.