I woke up at around 1:30 a.m. when I heard loud banging at our front door. My mother answered and about 15 Israeli soldiers entered our home. Three of the soldiers wore facemasks. The soldiers asked me for my name and then went to my bedroom.

 

The soldiers had a photograph and were looking for a particular T-shirt worn by an individual in the photograph. Then they held a T-Shirt against me and took a picture of me and then told me they wanted to take me for questioning at the police station in the settlement of Kedumim. They did not give us any written documents. My mother told the commander I was too young to be taken away on my own but he did not pay attention to what she said.

 

The soldiers then took me outside where they tied my hands to the front with two plastic ties; one on top of the other. The ties were very tight and painful and left marks on my wrists for a long time. I was also blindfolded. The soldiers then led me towards the nearby military base on foot. On the way to the base I tripped and fell down because I was blindfolded. When I fell down a soldier kicked me in the back and I was in pain and shock.

 

When we arrived at the base I was taken inside where I sat on a chair, tied and blindfolded, until around 5:30 a.m. I was not given any food or drink and I could not sleep. At Around 5:30 a.m. I was taken to another military base in a military jeep. At the second base I was examined by a doctor. At around noon I was taken to the police station in Kedumim settlement.

 

While waiting for my turn to be interrogated I saw soldiers take another boy from my village and beat him. I was scared and worried I might be beaten too. Then I was taken for interrogation.

 

The interrogator removed my blindfold but kept my ties on. I complained to him that the ties were painful but he did not respond. He immediately started to swear at me and cursed my religion. Then he told me if I remained silent it would be used against me. I understood this to mean that if I did not answer his questions it would be considered an implied confession. He also told me I had the right to consult with a lawyer. He called a lawyer and allowed me to speak to him. The lawyer asked me whether the interrogator had informed me of my rights. Then he asked me for my name and did not say anything else.

 

Then the interrogator accused me of throwing stones on Route 55 and showed me pictures and video footage. He also told me other boys had confessed against me. When I denied the accusation he raised his voice at me and repeated the accusation. I continued to deny the accusation. The interrogation went on for about 90 minutes. In the end the interrogator showed me documents in Hebrew and asked me to sign them but I refused.

 

After the interrogation I was taken to Huwwara military base near Nablus. We arrived at the base at around 8:00 p.m. On the way I was blindfolded and tied. All this time I was still without food or drink.

 

On arrival at Huwwara I was strip searched before being taken to a cell where I slept on a very thin mattress on the floor. I was uncomfortable and did not sleep well. I was given some food in the morning. At around 7:00 a.m. the next day I was taken to Megiddo prison, inside Israel. At Megiddo I was searched in my underwear and asked to crouch up and down and then I was taken to the juvenile section.

 

The following day I was taken to Salem military court. Nobody from my family came to court because they did not know I had a hearing. My lawyer was there and the hearing was adjourned. In all I had about 10 hearings in the military court. At the last hearing on 25 October 2017, I was sentenced in a plea bargain to seven months in prison and a NIS 2,000 fine. I was also given a suspended sentence of nine months suspended for three years.

 

I spent my prison sentence at Megiddo prison and my mother visited me three times. After I was sentenced I appeared in court again and the judge decided to grant me an early release. I think the prison was too crowded and many boys were granted early releases.

 

I was released on 28 December 2017 at Al-Jalama checkpoint. My family was not informed of my early release and so were not there to meet me. I used a driver’s telephone to call my brothers who came and picked me up and took me home. I arrived home at around 7:00 p.m. 

 

In prison I studied but I don’t think I will go back to school. I finished 10^th grade and I want to help my mother support the family because my father died.