WEST BANK villager Bassem Tamimi revealed today that he has finally been able to visit his teenage daughter Ahed and wife Nariman in an Israeli prison for the first time since their arrest in December.

The Palestinian activist spoke to wife and daughter by phone for 45 minutes yesterday, separated by a window, following Red Cross assistance to get a permit for two visits over a three-month period.

“They are good. Their morale is very high,” he said, adding that Ahed spends her days reading and doing school work, focusing on her English studies.

His daughter, who turned 17 behind bars, was arrested after her mother posted a video of her slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers who refused to leave her West Bank home.

Ahed is accused of assault and incitement, while Nariman faces incitement charges.

Their trial begins tomorrow in an Israeli occupation military court and could drag on for months.

“It’s going to be long and they are going to suffer tremendously,” said Mr Tamimi.

The case has focused attention on Israel’s military courts, which deliver a nearly 100 per cent conviction rate for Palestinians.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem issued a report today criticising Israel’s treatment of minors in military courts, where they are frequently cut off from parents or lawyers and coerced into admitting crimes.

“Creating a false facade of a fair legal system that purports to safeguard the rights of minors tried in its courts serves a political goal: legitimising the occupation and silencing criticism of it,” the report declared.