I woke up to the sound of Israeli soldiers inside our home at around 3:00 a.m. The soldiers told my father to gather the whole family in the living room. They were agitated and were in full battle gear as if ready for war.

 

When the soldiers checked my identity card they said they had come to arrest me and my twin brother. They did not give my family any documents and did not tell us why they were arresting me or where they were taking me. They handcuffed me to the back. The cuffs were tight and painful. Then they took me and my brother outside and put us in a military jeep where they made us sit in the back on top of each other on the metal floor. I was very uncomfortable and in pain. They also blindfolded me.

 

The jeep drove for about 15 minutes and then stopped at the entrance to our village. At that point my hands were swollen and I was in pain and I screamed and complained to the soldiers and asked them to remove the handcuffs. The soldiers removed them and told me to massage my wrists. Then they tied my hands to the back with one plastic tie which was also tight and painful. About 10 minutes later my hands swelled again and I complained to the soldiers who cut off the tie and tied my hands with a rope to the front.

 

The jeep drove for about 15 minutes to the police station in Etzion settlement. At Etzion I was examined by a doctor who removed the blindfold and put it back on when he was done. I was then taken to the back of a troop carrier where I sat on a seat. The soldiers turned on the air conditioner and I remained inside the cold vehicle for about two hours. The troop carrier then drove for about 30 minutes to the police station inside Kiryat Arba police settlement where I was immediately taken for interrogation. It was around 6:00 a.m.

 

The interrogator removed the rope and the blindfold and started to interrogate me after he told me I had the right to remain silent. He also warned me that remaining silent wasn’t going to help me in court. He called my family and told them I was being interrogated at Kiryat Arba. I did not speak to a lawyer. He accused me of throwing stones and Molotov cocktail at soldiers. I denied the accusation. He then told me there were confessions against me from other boys who were in Ofer prison. I challenged him to confront me with the boys but he told me he wasn’t going to do so.

 

He then started to ask me general questions about my village. This round of interrogation lasted for about 30 minutes. I was then taken to another interrogator who told me his name was "Captain Daoud". Daoud also accused me of the same accusations but added the accusation of throwing pipe bombs at soldiers. I denied the accusation. This round of interrogation lasted for another 30 minutes. I told him the boys who gave testimonies against me were liars.

 

The second interrogator then printed out my statement in Hebrew and wanted me to sign it but I refused because I didn’t understand what it said. He then took my photograph and my fingerprints and tied and blindfolded me again and took me outside where I sat on a chair. I remained there until around 11:00 a.m. when I was taken to the back of a troop carrier where I sat on a seat.

 

The troop carrier drove me to Etzion police station where I was strip searched and taken to a cell. I remained in Etzion for four days. I slept on the floor without a mattress and I was only given a blanket. I felt cold and uncomfortable.

 

On the fourth day I was transferred to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, where I was held in Section 20 with other boys my age. While at Ofer I had four military court hearings which my parents did not attend because I wanted to save them the hassle and expense of coming to court. On the last hearing my lawyer was able to release me on bail.

 

I was released from Ofer on 17 March 2016, at around 5:00 p.m. I went home with other prisoners who were released on the same day.