My brother woke up at around 3:30 a.m. and told me he saw Israeli soldiers surrounding our house. Then I heard aggressive banging at our front door. I quickly hid my cell phone while my brother opened the door. About 10 soldiers entered our home and four of them came to my bedroom. One of them asked me for my name and then told me to get ready because I was under arrest. They did not give me or my family any documents and did not give a reason for my arrest.

 

Within 10 minutes I was taken outside where a soldier tied my hands to the front with four plastic ties: two on each wrist and the four of them were linked together like a chain. The ties were very tight and painful and I felt my wrists were about to fall off. Then he blindfolded me and the soldiers walked me for about two hours on dirt roads all the way to the military base at the nearby settlement of Ofra. 

 

On the way soldiers kicked and slapped me and swore at me; they called me "a son of a whore" and they swore at god and my religion. I was in pain and they seemed to enjoy kicking and beating me. I fell many times and I cut my forehead and my hand; I was blindfolded and my hands were tied so I could not balance myself on the dirt road.

 

When we got to the base soldiers left me outdoors and I could see from under the blindfold they were taking pictures of each other and having fun. One of them kicked me hard in my stomach and caused me a lot of pain. I fell to the ground and could barely stand up. Then I was taken to a small cell measuring about 1x1 meters. I was left there for about five hours. I was not given anything to eat or drink and I was not allowed to use the toilet. During this time a doctor examined me and did not say anything when I told him I was beaten up by the soldiers. 

 

At around 9:00 a.m. I was taken in a troop carrier to the police station in Binyamin settlement. I was taken to a small cell where I was left for about an hour. Then a soldier replaced the plastic ties with metal handcuffs, shackled my feet and removed the blindfold. Then I was taken for interrogation.

 

The interrogator was in civilian clothes. The interrogator phoned a lawyer and then handed me the phone to speak to him. The lawyer told me I had to be careful because I was tired and sleepy and the interrogator might trick me into confessing. He told me to be alert and mindful. The interrogator was not listening and the call lasted for about one-and-a-half minutes.

 

Then, without informing me of my right to silence, the interrogator accused me of throwing stones at soldiers during clashes in my village. He gave me a specific date in October and told me other boys had confessed against me. I denied the accusation. Then he showed me some photographs and said I was among the protesters and stone throwers. When I denied the accusation again, he told me he was never going to send me home. Then he brought in a person who looked at one of the boys in the photographs and then looked at me and told the interrogator the boy was definitely me. Still, I continued to deny the accusation.

 

Then the interrogator told me he wanted me to at least confess against another boy if I wasn’t going to confess against myself. I told him I did not know any of the boys in the photos he showed me. He questioned me for about three hours and during the interrogation he called someone and told that person I was giving him a hard time. He did not give me any documents to sign.

 

After the interrogation I was taken to a small cell where I was left for about four hours. I slept for about an hour during this time because I was tired. Then a soldier woke me up and told me to sign a document written in Hebrew. When I asked him what it was he did not answer me. I signed because I was sleepy and tired and had no energy to resist. I later found out they made me sign a false confession.

 

Then I was taken to a bus which took me to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. I was strip searched in a humiliating manner. The soldiers focused on my sensitive parts and ran a metal detector between my legs. I was humiliated. Then I was taken to section 13. 

 

Two days later I was taken to Ofer military court. My mother and brother attended and my detention was extended.

 

In all I had about 10 military court hearings. About two months before I was released I was sentenced in a plea bargain to three months in prison with an additional six months suspended for two years. I was not fined. I accepted the plea bargain because it was better than the 12 months the prosecutor was asking for.

 

I spent the rest of my prison sentence at Ofer where I helped keep the cell clean and I exercised. I did not attend any classes because they were useless. I was released at Ofer on 6 February 2023, and I went home with my brother. I arrived home at around 8:00 p.m. I don’t go to school anymore and I work as a car mechanic.