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Home » Parents »

Testimony: Hana S.

 

Name:  Hana S.
Age:  42
Date:  20 October 2017
Location:  Tuqu, West Bank
Event:  Night raid / child arrest

On 20 October 2017, a 16-year-old minor from Tuqu was arrested by Israeli soldiers from home at 2:30 a.m. The boy’s mother describes the night raid on the family home and the arrest of her son.

My brother-in-law phoned at around 2:30 a.m. and told us to get ready because Israeli soldiers had come to his house looking for us. Shortly afterwards a large number of soldiers surrounded our home and banged at the door.
 
My husband opened the door and four soldiers entered our home and asked for my husband’s identity card. Then the commander told my husband our son throws stones at soldiers and that they wanted to take him for questioning.
 
The soldiers then pushed me and my husband into the kitchen and searched the bedrooms. They did not break anything but they made a big mess. They never told us what they were looking for. Our younger daughters were terrified to see soldiers inside our home in the middle of the night. When they heard that the soldiers wanted their brother they could not believe it and started to cry.
 
The soldiers took our 16-year-old son outside without giving us any documents and without telling us where they were taking him or for how long. They did not beat my son in front of us but he later told us they slapped him in the back of the jeep.
 
The following day my husband received a phone call from somebody who told him our son was in Ofer prison, near Jerusalem.
 
Eleven days later my son was released but it was not clear to us whether the case against him was dropped or not. All we know is he will be monitored for the next six months. I don’t know what “being monitored” means but I know that my son is anxious and stressed. He tells me he is afraid of being arrested again.
 
Since his release I have noticed that my son’s behavior has changed. He is short-tempered and is not working hard at school. My son’s grades were excellent before he was arrested but now I am worried. He is absent-minded and seems to be pre-occupied with his own thoughts.
 
This was the first-time Israeli soldiers raided our home but it was enough to terrify us. I don’t sleep well at night now and I wake up to the slightest sound outside. I constantly worry that the soldiers might return and arrest our son again.