By Abdelrauf Arnaut

JERUSALEM

Israeli authorities on Monday expelled two Italian artists who painted a mural of Palestinian protest icon Ahed al-Tamimi in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The two artists were also barred from entering the country for 10 years, the newspaper quoted their lawyer Azmi Masalha as saying.

Last week, Israeli forces detained the artists after painting the mural of al-Tamimi, a 17-year-old girl, who has turned into an icon of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation after a video emerged of her slapping an Israeli soldier during a raid on her home to arrest her brother in the West Bank town of Nabi Saleh.

Al-Tamimi was released from prison on Sunday after she was handed down an 8-month jail term by an Israeli court for “attacking” an Israeli soldier.

Israeli police said the two artists were arrested for vandalism and their visas were cancelled on Sunday. They were ordered to leave within three days.