I woke up at around 4:00 a.m. to the sound of gunfire around our house. Shortly afterwards, our front door was broken open and about 30 Israeli soldiers entered our home and spread out. The soldiers were all masked and heavily armed.

 

The commander spoke to my father and then the soldiers came into my bedroom. One of the soldiers told me to get up and said they were going to take me to Salem detention centre. My parents were not given any documents. They did not search our house and within 20 minutes one of the soldiers tied my hands to the front with four plastic ties: Two on each wrist and the two pairs were connected together in the middle like a chain. He tied me in front of my parents and he tightened the ties hard and I was in pain. The ties left marks on my hands.

 

Then I was taken outside where I was blindfolded. Then I was taken to the back of a military jeep where they made me sit on the metal floor. Then I was taken to a nearby military base where I was left outside, in the cold weather, until after sunset. During this time, they brought me some tuna and they allowed me to use the toilet once. Then I was taken to Al Jalama interrogation centre, inside Israel. I was taken to a small cell where I spent a whole month in solitary confinement.

 

The cell measured about 2x2 meters, without any windows. They left the light on all the time and I did not know days from nights. There was a sink and an open sewer which was my toilet. The sewer smelled badly. The walls were rough and grey. The first week was a nightmare and I found it hard. Slowly I adapted and got used to being there. During this month I was interrogated, on average, four days a week.

 

My first interrogation was on the first day when I arrived. The interrogator removed the blindfold but kept me tied. He was not wearing a uniform. There was a camera in the room. He gave me a piece of paper to read. I read it and it said I had the right to remain silent in addition to other things. The interrogator did not call a lawyer for me and immediately accused me of serious accusations which included throwing stones contacting an enemy in Gaza. I denied the accusations.

 

Then the interrogator showed me some information on my mobile phone. He told me what he found on my phone was enough to convict me. I felt I had no choice but to confess. I confessed to some charges, but not others. I was questioned for about one-and-a-half hours. The interrogator was calm and did not threaten me. At the end he asked me to sign a document written in Hebrew and I did. 

 

On my third interrogation, the interrogator called a lawyer and allowed me to speak to him before he started to question me. The lawyer told me I was going to have a military court hearing in a few days. The interrogator was listening to the short conversation on speaker phone. 

 

All the interrogation sessions were similar. On one occasion the interrogator swore at me and called my mother and sisters “whores”. I spoke to a lawyer only once and was informed of my rights only once. On my last day in solitary confinement, I was transferred to a cell with a collaborator. I had no idea who he was and I fell into his trap. He told me he was from a certain Palestinian faction, in charge of the prisoners. I warmed up to him and told him everything. My last interrogation session was after I had spoken to the collaborator.

 

After my final interrogation I was transferred to Megiddo prison, also in Israel, where I was strip searched before being taken into section 3. 

 

My first military court hearing was about a week after I had been arrested. My parents were able to attend and my detention was extended. I had about 10 hearings, the last one was sometime in September 2023. I had another hearing scheduled in October but it did not happen because of the war. 

 

I spent the rest of my time in prison at Megiddo. My parents visited me six times and I was allowed to call home twice a month from a telephone provided by the prison authorities. 

 

Conditions in prison after 7 October 2023 became terrible. The prison authorities striped us of everything except the clothes we were wearing. We were not allowed to leave our cells for a break and they closed the prison shop. All family visits were stopped. They took away soap and shavers. My morale was down. 

 

On the day of my release I was told I had another court hearing. Instead, I was taken for a meeting with an intelligence officer who told me I was going to be released because Hamas and Israel had agreed to a deal. He then warned me and told me I was not allowed to celebrate my release. He told me I was not allowed to raise flags or play loud music in celebration. He threatened to re-arrest me if I violated these conditions of my release. I was released on 25 November 2023 just before midnight. I was dropped off by a Red Cross team at the centre of Ramallah where my parents and my brother met me and took me home. We arrived home at around 5:00 a.m. 

 

dI was happy to be home but sad for the time I had spent in prison. I also felt lucky because the prosecutor was asking for 28 months in prison. I missed my final high school exams and I found it hard to sit for the exams having not studied at school. I now work at a vegetable market trying to earn some money.