I was at my uncle’s house when at around noon I went to the shops. As I walked down the street a motor scooter pulled over and a person in civilian clothes jumped off and pulled a gun on me. I was terrified. Two more people who were dressed like workers suddenly showed up and started to swear at me. They beat me on the head and yelled at me to give them my mobile phone. I was bruised. There were lots of people on the street but no one dared to interfere. This was an Israeli under cover unit dressed as Palestinian workers. 

 

Then, one of the men blindfolded me and tied my hands behind my back with three plastic ties on top of each other. The ties were very tight and painful. They cut into my wrists and my hands swelled. Then a military jeep pulled over. I was taken to the back of the jeep where I sat on a seat. Then I was taken to a police station. On the way the soldiers swore at me and kicked and slapped me all over my body. They called my mother and sisters "whores".  

 

At the police station someone asked me if I had been beaten. When I told him I had, he told me it was a pity because he had instructed them not to beat me. Then he told me I was suspected of planning a terror attack because I used to hang out with a young man from the camp who had been assassinated by Israeli soldiers. I denied the accusation. He did not call a lawyer for me and did not inform me of my right to silence. I told him I had nothing to do with terror attacks. He accused me of not telling him the truth. Then he gestured to the soldiers who were in the room and they started to beat and to swear at me. I was questioned for about an hour. I was not asked to sign any documents.

 

After being interrogated I was taken in a military jeep to Petah Tikva interrogation centre, inside Israel. I arrived in the evening. I was strip searched and then taken to a small cell where I was left in solitary confinement for four days. No body spoke to me during the four days. The cell measured about 1x2 meters, the size of a person. There were no windows and I did not see daylight. I had no idea when the day started or ended. I was stressed. I tried to go back to sleep when I woke up, just to pass the time. I was in a terrible state of mind. 

 

Four days later I was taken for interrogation. I was interrogated by a female interrogator who was wearing a mini skirt, not a uniform. She called a lawyer for me and allowed me to speak to him. The lawyer told me to remain silent to avoid incriminating myself. He told me he was going to represent me in court in two days. The interrogator was not in the room during the phone call.

 

The interrogator did not inform me of my right to silence. She accused me of planning a terror attack. I denied the accusation. She was calm all the time and questioned me for about 30 minutes. At the end she told me it did not really matter if I confessed or not because I was going to get an administrative detention order. Then she asked me to sign a document written in Arabic. I read it and when I realised it was accurate I signed it. 

 

After the interrogation I was taken to Megiddo prison, also in Israel, where I was searched over my clothes before being taken to the minors’ section. The following day I was taken to a military court. My aunt and grandfather were there. My detention was extended. Two days later I had another hearing which my mother attended. During that hearing I was given a six-month administrative detention order. My mother cried in front of the military judge when she heard this and I felt sad for her. After court I was taken back to prison.

 

Ten days before I was supposed to be released I was handed another four-month administrative detention order. I was sad, but a bit relieved because I felt four months was better than six. 

 

After 7 October 2023, prison conditions changed for the worse. I was lucky to have my parents visit me three times before 7 October, because family visits were suspended afterwards. The guards took away everything we had, we were left with the clothes we were wearing and a mattress, nothing else. I was badly beaten up when one of the prisoners removed an Israeli flag which the guards had raised in order to provoke us. They locked about 70 detainees in the small shower room as punishment. We were left there for about two hours while the guards emptied the cells of everything, the TV, the radio, the hot plate…everything. 

 

During this time the prison authorities brought in more detainees and the cells became overcrowded. Instead of six boys per cell, we were 10. They took away our shampoo and we did not have access to hot water in the showers. We used to attend classes in Arabic, Hebrew and Mathematics, but after 7 October they stopped the classes. 

 

On the day of my release the prison guards lied to me. They told me they wanted to take me for an interrogation. I had to wait a long time and finally I was taken to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, where I met with a representative of the Red Cross who told me I was going to be released in a deal between Hamas and Israel. I was very happy. Then an intelligence officer met with me and told me I was not allowed to celebrate my release, and if I did he was going to arrest me again. 

 

I was released late at night on 26 November 2023, and I was met in Ramallah by my grandfather, my brother and my uncle and cousin who took me home. I arrived home at around 4:30 a.m. I did not celebrate because of the large number of people who were killed in Gaza.