RAMALLAH, West Bank — Prison time is almost a rite of passage for some Palestinian activists, and Ahed Tamimi, the West Bank teenage firebrand who rose to international prominence after she kicked and slapped an Israeli soldier, tried to use hers profitably.

“I learned a lot,” Ms. Tamimi, 17, said hours after her release on Sunday from an Israeli prison, where she served an eight-month term. “I learned how to stay patient, to be in a group. I did my best to use the time to study. I came out more educated, and understand the world better than when I went in.”

She also came out no less determined.

She now plans to study law with an eye to suing Israel in international courts for what she describes as the violations and war crimes of the occupation.

“Of course I’m not going to forget the cause,” she said in an interview, “but I’m going to invest in my studies, because knowledge is the strongest weapon for a struggler.”