I was on my way home with my brother when an Israeli soldier at Jaba’ checkpoint approached me and told me I was under arrest. It was around 2:00 p.m. He claimed another boy said I was throwing stones at soldiers.

 

The soldier then dragged me to the back of a jeep where I was blindfolded and hand tied with one plastic tie to the front. The tie was painful. They forced me to sit on the metal floor.

 

The jeep drove for hours until we arrived at the police station in Binyamin settlement. I was taken out of the jeep and made to sit on a plastic chair. A doctor examined me. I remained in a room until the following morning. I fell asleep but woke up a number of times during the night. In the morning, at around 7:00 a.m., I was taken for interrogation.

 

The interrogator removed the blindfold and replaced the tie with handcuffs. He had a tape recorder in front of him. He did not inform me of any rights and immediately accused me of throwing stones at soldiers. I denied the accusation and told him this was not true. He then told me I had to confess about the other boys whom he claimed were throwing stones with me. I continued to deny the accusation and told him I didn’t know anyone who throws stones. The interrogator kept trying to get a confession out of me but I continued to deny the accusation.

 

He then printed out my statement in Hebrew and asked me to sign it but I refused to sign. About 30 minutes later they took me to a room where they took my photograph and my fingerprints and then took me to the back of the jeep and forced me to sit on the metal floor.

 

The jeep drove for about an hour before it stopped at Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, where I was strip searched and taken to a room where I remained by myself for two days. During the two days I was given food and water and allowed to use the toilet. I was then transferred to Section 13 inside Ofer where I was detained with other boys my age.

 

I was detained at Ofer for five days. During this time I was taken to the military court twice where I would wait while tied and shackled from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. My parents did not attend the first hearing because they were not informed and the hearing was adjourned. The second hearing was on 19 February 2016, and both my parents and a lawyer were in court. The court agreed to release me in return for a fine of NIS 2,000. My father paid the amount and I was released on the same day.