Our house is located in the old part of Al Khadr, near the school, not too far from the Wall. On 31 December 2013, at around noon, my grandmother asked me to accompany her to my aunt’s house. As soon as we left the house I saw four Israeli soldiers running after some young boys.

 

The soldiers stopped not too far from where we were and fired tear gas and stun grenades at people about 200 meters away. Then a boy named Rabi walked by and the soldiers stopped and arrested him. The commanding officer then told the soldiers to arrest me. My grandmother told the soldiers I hadn’t done anything wrong but they ignored her. The soldiers then dragged me towards a jeep that was waiting near the school.

 

I was made to stand by the jeep and then one of the soldiers pushed my head against the vehicle. It was very painful. I think one of the soldiers was filming me with his mobile phone. Then another soldier came and dragged me very aggressively and said things in Hebrew, which I didn’t understand. He then gestured as if he was going to hit me, but he didn’t. I was made to sit on the ground and about 10 minutes later my hands were tied to the front with one plastic tie. I was then placed inside a jeep with Rabi.

 

We were driven to a military base in Beit Jala. Just before entering the base the soldiers blindfolded me. Once inside the base I was made to sit on the ground. While waiting I was sprayed with a hose and somebody swore at us. Then they took us inside and opened all the windows. The wind was very cold and we felt cold. We remained there for about an hour. There were soldiers guarding us the whole time.

 

After about an hour we were put back in a jeep, still tied and blindfolded. The jeep drove for about 10 minutes and stopped. A soldier told us we were at Etzion settlement. I think it was about 4:00 p.m. We were taken out of the jeep and made to sit on the ground again. We were then taken inside and my blindfold was removed. Rabi was called for interrogation and I was left alone. Then a soldier came and asked me in Arabic: “who pays you money to throw stones?” I told him I didn’t throw stones and no one pays me any money. I asked to use the bathroom and he allowed me. I wasn’t given any food and the soldier who was in the room was eating and making fun of me.

 

At around 5:00 p.m. some Palestinian policemen came and I was released into their custody. Rabi is still in jail.