My older brother woke me up at around 1:30 a.m. to tell me Israeli soldiers were in our house. I got up and went to the living room where I found about 15 soldiers, including the area commander. When the commander saw me and looked at me in a threatening way that scared me.

 

The commander took the annex in my father’s identity card, took a picture of me with his mobile telephone and told my father I was under arrest. My father asked for the reason and the commander said I was accused of throwing stones. He had some photos with him and showed them to my father claiming I was among the boys seen throwing stones in the photos. We were not given any documents.

 

The soldiers then took me outside where they covered my head with a hood and tied my hands to the back with one plastic tie which was very tight and painful. Then they took me to the back of a military jeep and made me kneel down on the metal floor and sit on my tied hands. This was a painful position especially when the jeep started to move on the bumpy roads.

 

The jeep drove for a short distance to the nearby military base in Zufin settlement where I was taken to a room where I remained for about 30 minutes.

 

After about 30 minutes I was taken to an office where there were soldiers. One of the soldiers removed the hood and scolded the other soldiers for tying my hands so tightly. He cut off the tie and replaced it with a looser tie to the front. He asked me whether I was beaten and whether I had any pain and I told him I was ok. Then he hooded me again and took me to a room where I remained until 9:00 a.m. During this time I was given some water and I was allowed to use the toilet but I wasn’t given any food.

 

At around 9:00 a.m. I was driven to the police station in Ariel settlement. The car drove for a long time and I arrived at Ariel at around 2:00 p.m. On arrival I was immediately taken for interrogation.

 

An interrogator and an interpreter were in the room. Before asking me any questions the interrogator called a lawyer and allowed me to speak to him. The lawyer told me not to talk about anything I did not do and told me to take care.

 

The interrogator loosened the tie and removed the hood but did not tell me I had the right to silence. He showed me three photographs of a boy throwing stones and asked me if I had anything to say. I confessed to throwing one stone. He asked me for the date and place of the incident. I told him I did not know the date and that the incident was in Azzun.  Then he showed me a picture of a boy throwing stones and asked me to identify him but I told him I did not know the boy. 

 

Then he showed me a document in Hebrew and asked me to sign it. He told me the document said I was interrogated and that I confessed. I asked him to translate it for me because I did not trust him. I then signed the document. After the interrogation, which lasted for about 45 minutes, they took my fingerprints and photograph.

 

Then a soldier took me to a canteen and asked me to pick something to eat. I took two coconut bars. I wanted to buy cigarettes but he did not allow me. Then he hooded me again and took me to a car which drove to Huwwara military base. I arrived there at around 4:00 p.m. I waited at the entrance for about 90 minutes before I was taken to a room with three other detainees. Before I went into the room I was searched in my underwear. They removed the tie and the hood and gave me some chocolate milk and I slept.

 

At around 1:30 a.m. a soldier woke me up and told they were going to take me to Megiddo prison, inside Israel. He shackled and handcuffed me and took me to a troop carrier which took me to Megiddo. At Megiddo I was searched in my underwear and then I was taken to the juvenile section. When I arrived the other detainees gave me some Tuna to eat and I went to bed.

 

At around 7:00 a.m. I was taken to the military court at Salem. My parents attended the hearing and I was allowed to speak to them. A lawyer asked me whether I had confessed and I told him I had. The hearing was adjourned. In all I had about eight military court hearings. During this time I was taken to Ofer military court once where a social worker asked me some questions and then wrote a report.

 

At the final hearing I was sentenced to six months in prison and fined NIS 3,000 in a plea bargain. The lawyer told me I would be sentenced to nine months in prison if I did not accept the plea bargain, so I accepted the plea bargain.

 

I spent my prison time at Megiddo and my mother and younger brother visited me three times starting three months after I was arrested. The delay was because it took a long time for them to obtain a permit to visit. My father did not visit me because he could not leave work.

 

In prison I studied Arabic and mathematics but I lost a whole semester at school. I was in 9^th grade but I think the school will allow me to move on to 10^th grade.

 

I was released on 4 June 2017, at Al Jalameh and I took a taxi to another village where my father met me and took me home. This was a tough experience and I don’t want to have anything to do with soldiers anymore.