I was asleep when I suddenly heard loud banging at our front door at around 3:00 a.m. My mother came and told me that Israeli soldiers had come to arrest me. I quickly went to our living room where I saw some soldiers giving my father a document and informing him they wanted to arrest me because I was accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the military watchtower at the entrance to our village. They also told my father they were taking me to the police station in Etzion settlement.

 

The soldiers then tied my hands to the back with three plastic ties: one on each wrist and one connecting the two. The ties were very tight and painful. They also blindfolded me. My mother passed out when she saw me being tied and blindfolded; it was too much for her to see. The soldiers then took me outside where I complained about the ties. They shouted at me and told me to shut up. Then one of the soldiers removed the ties and then tied me again but less painfully.

 

The soldiers then led me on foot for about 30 minutes towards the nearby settlement of Karmi Zur. On arrival at the settlement I was taken to a room where I remained until around 8:00 a.m. I was still tied and blindfolded but I was able to sleep.

 

At around 8:00 a.m. I was taken to see a doctor who asked me some medical questions and told me to sign a document. I refused to sign the document because it was in Hebrew. Then I was taken to a courtyard where I remained until around 11:00 a.m. I was then taken for interrogation.

 

The interrogator removed the blindfold and accused me of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the military watchtower. I denied the accusation and told him this was not true. He did not inform me of my rights. Then he told me there were confessions against me from three boys. I continued to deny the accusation. The interrogator was aggressive and yelled a lot. I was questioned for about two hours. Then he told me I could call my parents to ask them to appoint a lawyer for me and to tell them I was at Etzion police station. The interrogator then called my brother and asked him to appoint a lawyer.

 

In the end the interrogator printed out a statement and asked me to sign it but I refused because I didn’t understand what it said. Then they took my photograph and my fingerprints and brought me some food. I was then put in a room until around 4:00 p.m. when I was taken to the back of a military jeep where they made me sit on the floor. I was handcuffed and blindfolded and the jeep drove for two hours to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. At Ofer I was strip searched and put in Section 13.

 

The following day I was taken to Ofer military court. My parents attended the hearing and I was allowed to speak to them and the hearing was adjourned. I had four military court hearings and in the end my lawyer asked for me to be released on bail. The military court wanted my parents to pay NIS 2,000 bail but my lawyer negotiated it down to NIS 500.