Two weeks before I was arrested I was shot in the chest by Israeli settlers. One of the bullets just missed my heart. I had two fractured ribs and I was hospitalised.  

 

At around 5:00 a.m. on the day after I had been released from hospital, Israeli soldiers blew up our front door and about 15 soldiers raided our home. Many more soldiers remained outside. The commander spoke to my father and told him they were looking for me. My father told them I was sick because of a serious injury to my chest. He told them I was unable to walk. Then they had an argument and things started to become tense. Then my mother showed the soldiers my medical report and my medication. They did not take this into consideration and threw my medicine on the floor and told my parents they wanted to arrest me.

 

The soldiers remained inside our house for about two hours. They caused a lot of damage to the furniture during the search. They broke my wardrobe and the kitchen cupboards and the cups and plates. They also stole 500 shekels from my mother’s dress pocket.  

 

One of the soldiers tied my hands behind my back with three plastic ties: One on each wrist and another connecting the two. The ties were very tight and painful. Then, without giving my parents any documents, the soldiers took me downstairs where I was blindfolded.

 

Then the soldiers threw me on my back on the metal floor of a military jeep. Inside the jeep the soldiers swore at me calling me a "son of a whore".  They put their boots on me and when I told them I had fractured ribs and bullet wounds they just continued. I was in pain and my wounds started to bleed. I saw blood on my white shirt and I was terrified. 

 

The jeep drove me to the nearby settlement of Karmi Zur where I was left outdoors on the ground for about one-and-a-half hours while tied, blindfolded and bleeding. Then I was taken to the police station in Etzion settlement. About 45 minutes later I was taken to Hadassah hospital. I arrived there in the morning. They gave me a checkup and then told me I was fine. They removed the stitches in my back and stomach. Then I was taken to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. I was strip searched before being taken to section 13. 

 

Two days later I was taken for an interrogation in Ofer. The interrogator was not wearing a uniform. Before questioning me, he allowed me to call a lawyer. The lawyer told me I was going to be put in administrative detention. He told me they were going to decide within 72 hours.

 

Then the interrogator told me I had the right to remain silent. I did not understand what he meant, but I told him I was not involved in anything wrong. Then he accused me of posing a danger to the security of the region. When I denied it, he thumped the table aggressively. He questioned me for about 15 minutes and I do not remember if he asked me to sign any documents.

 

Five days later I had a military court hearing. My parents did not attend because nobody told them I had a hearing. The military judge adjourned the hearing for 72 hours. I had three more hearings, my parents did not attend any of them. At the last one I was given a six-month administrative detention order. My lawyer appealed but the appeal was rejected. I was shocked.

 

I spent my whole prison term at Ofer. After 7 October 2023, the situation in prison became unbearable. We were treated harshly and with disrespect. We were often slapped if one of us lifted his head up during the head count. The quantity of the food was reduced and they took away everything, including cleaning supplies, razor blades, kettles, extra mattresses, TV and radio. I was stressed and I became sick with influenza. I am still undergoing treatment for it today.

 

Thankfully, Hamas and Israel agreed on a deal and I was included in the prisoners who were released. I was released on 26 November 2023. On the day of my release I was told I had an interrogation. I was taken to a room where I waited for about four hours. Then representatives from the Red Cross met with me and the other boys and told us we were going home and that they were waiting for the paper work to be completed. I was released at around 8:00 p.m. My parents did not have a party for me because my grandmother had just died. I don’t work or go to school, I still have breathing difficulties and am still undergoing treatment.