I spent 32 days in a Palestinian prison. Eleven months later I was arrested by Israeli soldiers. 

 

On the day of my arrest a about 15 Israeli soldiers raided our house at around 4:00 a.m. The soldiers were all masked and looked scary. More soldiers were outside our house with service dogs. They asked my parents for me and then came into my bedroom. The commander asked me for my name and said “he’s the one”. Then he told me to step back and turn around and put my hands behind my back. Then he shackled me and handcuffed my hands behind my back with metal handcuffs which were tight and painful. 

 

Then they took me to another room and questioned me without informing me of my rights. The commander asked me about a piece of weapon and wanted to know where I had hidden it. I told him I did not have any weapons. Then he gestured to the soldiers to search the house. They were rough and broke our furniture. My seven-year-old sister was terrified.

 

Then a soldier pushed me around the house and deliberately pushed me against the walls while asking me for the weapons. Each time I told him I had no weapons, soldiers struck me on my back with the back of their guns. 

 

The soldiers remained in our house for about an hour. Then a soldier blindfolded me. When my father asked to say good bye to me they told him to shut up. Surprisingly, a soldier allowed me to take a warm jacket but then he pushed me aggressively against the wall in front of my parents. We were not given any documentation. 

 

Then I was taken outside and put into the back of a jeep where I sat on the metal floor. The soldiers swore at me calling me “a son of a whore”. Then I was taken to Salem interrogation centre where I was left of the ground for about an hour. Then I was put in a cage where I was left until the evening. I was not given any food or drink and only after pleading with the guards did they allow me to use the toilet. A female soldier accompanied me to the toilet which was embarrassing. Then I was taken in a GMC vehicle to Al Jalama interrogation centre, near Haifa in Israel, where I was left underground in a small cell in solitary confinement for 30 days.

 

The cell measured about 1x1 meters and did not have any windows. The walls were rough and had sharp edges like the edge of a knife and were painted dark grey. There was an old mattress which smelled, and a sink and a toilet. There was a bright light in the cell which they kept on 24 hours. I found it hard to fall asleep although I desperately wanted to sleep to pass the time but I couldn’t. I did not know the time of the day. The water tap turned itself on every now and then and made a lot of noise. Food was scarce and unappetising. One meal consisted of some sour cream, a cucumber and two slices of bread. Solitary confinement was very hard.

 

The following day I was taken for interrogation. I was taken to the interrogation room shackled, hand cuffed and blindfolded. The interrogator removed the blindfold. He wore civilian clothes and had a camera in the room. He read my rights to me before starting to interrogate me. He told me I had the right to remain silent and the right to consult with a lawyer. When I told him I wanted to speak to a lawyer he told me the lawyer was busy and needed 3-4 hours to respond and he refused to call him. The first time I saw a lawyer was in a military court, eight days later.

 

The interrogator accused me of weapons possession. When I denied the accusation, he told me he was worried about my future because if I did not confess soldiers might assassinate me. He was aggressive and raised his voice when he spoke to me. He spoke good Arabic and threatened to dump me in the cemetery if I did not confess. Then he told me he was going to keep me in prison until I rotted. Then he threatened to arrest my father and brothers and sisters if I did not confess. 

 

At one point the interrogator told me he had a lot of money and access to women. He said he would share his money and women with me if I promised to contact him once I was released. 

 

I was questioned me for about 10 hours; from 7:00 a.m. until noon, then he took a lunch break and continued to question me from around 1:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. He did not ask me to sign any documents. 

 

I was questioned multiple times over the 30 days. I never spoke to a lawyer, and only at the first interrogation did he inform me of my rights. He told me he had confessions against me from a person from my village. 

 

During the 30 days I was taken to the collaborators’ cell without me realizing so at first. Also, during one of the sessions the interrogator told me he would keep me in the interrogation room until I confessed. From that moment on, he completely ignored me. I sat in his room as if I was invisible. I found this to be extremely difficult. He did not acknowledge my presence or give me any food or drink. He did not allow me to use a toilet either. He held me in the interrogation room for about 12 hours. At the end of 12 hours I confessed to some of the accusations, I could no longer take it.

 

After confessing I was taken to Megiddo prison, also in Israel, where I was strip searched before being taken to section 3. 

 

My first military court hearing was eight days after my arrest. It was there that I saw my lawyer for the first time. My parents did not attend because they were not informed and my detention was extended. 

 

I had about 10 military court hearings. On 1 August 2023, I was sentenced in a plea bargain to 18 months in prison and fined NIS 4,000. I was also given an additional 10 months in prison suspended for three years. My lawyer convinced me it was a good deal because the alternative was three years in prison.

 

I was in Megiddo prison until 21 October 2023, and then I was transferred to Damoun prison, also in Israel, for a month before being taken back to Megiddo. 

 

On the day of my release I uwas told I was going to be taken back to solitary confinement, but deep inside I had a feeling I was going to be released. I was taken for a meeting with the area intelligence officer. He wanted me to promise never to go back to disturbing the peace and never to attempt armed resistance. He told me if did, I could consider myself dead. 

 

I was also taken to meet other officers. Then they took my fingerprints and my photograph, and at around 9:00 p.m. I was released. My parents could not come to Ramallah to take me home because of the checkpoints. I stayed at my cousin’s house in Ramallah. The following day my two uncles came to Ramallah and took me home. I went to my uncle’s house because his son had been killed by Israeli soldiers a few days earlier. I went to pay condolences and then I went home. I did not celebrate my release because of my cousin’s death.

 

After 7 October 2023, conditions inside prison became terrible. Food was scarce, one plate had to be shared between six detainees. I often went to bed feeling hungry. The guards often raided the cells and beat us up. On 25 November 2023, the guards raided the cell I was in and beat us all up because we were noisy. I was beaten up with a baton. The guards threw the rubbish bin at us and poured cold water on us. They took away our clothes and left us only with the clothes we were wearing. We were nine detainees instead of six, and three of us had to sleep on the floor. They also took away our shaving equipment. When I went home my parents did not recognise me because I had a beard and my hair was long. I could not believe it when I was finally home. 

 

I have a feeling the soldiers are going to come back for me. I know two other boys who have already been re-arrested. I have voluntarily locked myself up at home, I am scared of leaving home. I missed my final high school exams when I was in prison. I am planning to sit for the exams next year.

 

I spend my time sleeping because there is nothing for me to do. About 30,000 people live in my village, about 1,000 are probably collaborators.