I was fast asleep when I heard a loud explosion coming from the direction of our living room. It was around 3:00 a.m. I jumped out of bed, drew the curtain open and saw a large number of masked Israeli soldiers making their way into our home. They had torch lights on their helmets and looked scary. I also saw a sniper shooter on the roof of our neighbour’s house aiming his gun at our home. He had a service dog standing next to him. I was terrified and told my husband that soldiers had blown open our front door and were inside our home. 

 

I started to scream out of fear. Soon a soldier pushed open my bedroom door and aimed his gun at me. He told me to shut up. I was trembling and could not control myself.  

 

About 20 soldiers came into our home. Some soldiers went into my 29-year-old son's bedroom. He was still asleep and woke up to their guns pointing at him. They beat him and told him to get up. Then one of the soldiers asked us about our 16-year-old son, Izziddin. They named him and wanted to know where he was. My older son pointed to his bedroom and the soldiers rushed there. They told Izziddin to get up and then dragged him out of bed. He told them he needed to use the toilet. They followed him to the toilet and started to question him there. 

 

The soldiers searched our home and did not leave anything unturned. My 13-year-old daughter was terrified and could not stop crying. They broke the wardrobes, spilled oil on the kitchen floor, threw our clothes on the floor - it was a complete mess. The sight of all this made me nauseous and I threw up. Cold sweat covered my body and I felt I could no longer breathe. One of the soldiers saw my condition and brought me a glass of water. Then he told me to show him where the guns were hidden. I told him we did not have any guns. 

 

Meanwhile Izziddin was still locked up in the bathroom. The soldiers were rough with him and I could hear his voice. I told him not to worry. A soldier then swore at me, pushed me aggressively and aimed his gun at me and chased me out and down the stairs. My husband tried to intervene but he was beaten up by a soldier. 

 

The soldiers remained inside our home for about half an hour. After an hour they tied Izziddin’s hands behind his back and took him away. They did not give us any documents or explanation other than our son was going to spend a long time in prison. 

 

For two months after the raid I found it hard to sleep. I felt sick and was trembling uncontrollably. I woke up many times during the night unable to fall back to sleep. 

 

Izziddin spent four-and-a-half months in prison, including 35 days in solitary confinement at Al-Jalama interrogation centre. When I saw him in the military court for the first time after the arrest, I could not hold my tears back. He looked frail and had lost a lot of weight. 

 

This experience has changed my son a lot. He is now short-tempered, and does not talk much. He sometimes tells his older brother what happened to him, but when I ask him questions he covers his ears and walks away and tells me he does not want to speak. He spends a lot of time sitting quietly by himself. He does not want to go back to school but I keep encouraging him. I took him to see a doctor but refused to tell the doctor what had happened to him in prison; he told the doctor he did not want to be reminded.