There were clashes with Israeli soldiers by the District Coordination Office (DCO) military checkpoint at around 10:00 a.m. A group of soldiers arrested some of the boys including me. As soon as a soldier grabbed me I was hand tied to the front with two plastic ties on top of each other. The ties were tight and painful and left marks on my wrists. I was also blindfolded before being taken to the back of a military jeep. The soldiers allowed me to sit on a seat.

 

The jeep drove me to the nearby settlement of Ma’a’leh Adumim where I was given a quick medical examination. After the medical examination I was left in an outdoor area where I sat on a chair until around 2:00 a.m. I was not given any food or drink. I was tired and hungry. Then I was taken in a military jeep to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, where I was strip searched before being taken to section 13. 

 

Two days later I was taken for interrogation by an intelligence officer at Ofer. The interrogator was not wearing a uniform. He had a camera in the room. Before questioning me he allowed me to phone a lawyer. The lawyer told me they had secret evidence against me and that I was going to be given an administrative detention order. We spoke for a minute, not more and the interrogator was listening.

 

The interrogator told me it was better for me to speak and not remain silent because the court would convict me if I remained silent as if implying I was guilty. Then he told me I was suspected of possessing and trading in weapons and of membership in banned militant organisations and that I was a threat to the security of the area. He also accused me of incitement on social media. I denied the accusations. The interrogator did not have any concrete evidence against me; no photographic evidence or confessional evidence by others. He interrogated me for about 30 minutes and he tried to trick and manipulate me by putting words in my mouth. 

 

At the end of the interrogation he wanted me to sign a document written in Hebrew. I told him I was not going to sign any documents without the presence of a lawyer. Then he called a lawyer who tried to convince me to sign but I refused to sign. After the interrogation I was taken back to prison.

 

My first military court hearing was on 9 May 2023, and both my parents attended. I was given a six-month administrative detention order. My lawyer objected and I had more court hearings. Finally, they reduced my administrative detention to four months. 

 

On 30 July 2023, a month before I was supposed to be released, I was given another administrative detention order for four months. My morale was below zero; I felt like a cancer patient who had suffered a relapse just after recovering; a terrible feeling. 

 

I spent the time at Ofer prison where I studied for my high school exams and I sat for the exams in prison and thankfully I passed. 

 

After 7 October 2023, the situation in prison deteriorated. They took away everything we had except the mattress and the clothes we were wearing. Food was not enough and most days I went to bed hungry. They took away the television and radio and we did not know much about the war. We were denied family visits and phone calls with our parents; it was terrible.

 

On the day of my release, at around 11:00 a.m., I was told by a guard I had another interrogation. Quite frankly I was worried. I waited from around 11:00 a.m. until around 5:00 p.m., thinking I was going to be interrogated. Then, a Red Cross representative met with me and the other prisoners and told me I was going to be released in the Hamas prisoners’ deal. I could not believe it.

 

Then the Israeli Area Commander met with me. He told me this was my last chance. He told me he wanted me to spend 24-months in administrative detention, but he decided to give me one last chance. He told me to take care of myself and my future. Then he encouraged me to travel to Turkiye. I asked him if I was allowed to travel. He told me not if I raised flags or celebrated my release or even left the house in the next week. He told me he was going to re-arrest me if I did not obey him. 

 

I was released on 24 November 2023. My father and uncle met me in Ramallah and took me home. I arrived home at around midnight. I was not given back my identity card.