I was at school when the Israeli intelligence officer for my area phoned my father. It was around 8:00 a.m. The intelligence officer asked my father to bring me to his office. He told my father he was going to ask me a couple of questions and then would send me home. My father came to school at around 11:00 a.m. and asked permission from the headmaster to take me to the military base at the District Coordination Office (DCO). My father and I arrived there about 30 minutes later.

 

I waited with my father until around 3:00 p.m. when I was let in. The guards told my father to go home. Once inside my hands were tied behind my back with three plastic ties: one on each wrist and another connecting the two. The ties were so tight and painful that they left marks on my wrists for weeks. He also blindfolded me and took me in to see the officer. The officer addressed me as the “hero” and told me he was going to lock me up in prison for two years. 

 

Then I was taken to the police station in the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim. I was taken in a military jeep where they made me sit on the metal floor. The soldiers in the jeep swore at me calling me "a son of a whore". I was left on a chair outdoors in the sun until around 11:00 p.m. During this time I was questions four times, each time for about 20-30 minutes.

 

The interrogator did not call a lawyer for me and did not inform me of my right to silence. He told me to confess if I wanted to go home. Then he accused me of receiving money from a hostile agent. He also accused me of throwing stones. I denied the accusations. He then told me to confess if I wanted to make it easy for myself. He was aggressive and threatened to prevent me from ever seeing my family. He then threatened to put me in prison for 10 years if I did not confess. Then he showed me pictures of young men who had been killed by soldiers and asked me to sign on the pictures with a note saying I did not know them.

 

This was repeated three more times. At the last session he asked me to sign a document written in both Hebrew and Arabic. The Arabic version said that the men in the pictures he showed me were terrorists. I signed. The last session was over by around 6:00 p.m. At around midnight I was taken to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. The jeep drove a long distance and by the time I arrived at Ofer it was around 3:00 a.m. I was strip searched and then I was taken into section 13.

 

Three days later I was taken for another interrogation. This time the interrogator called a lawyer for me and allowed me to speak to him. The lawyer told me I had the right to remain silent and advised me to answer the questions directly and briefly, no more and no less. Then he told me he was going to contact my parents and tell them I was O.K. The conversation was short, about two minutes, and the interrogator was listening on speaker phone.

 

Then the interrogator told me I had the right to remain silent. I took the advice of the lawyer and answered with a "yes" or "no". He accused me of the same accusations and threatened to issue an administrative detention order against me. He told me those who don’t confess they lock up in administrative detention for two years. He questioned me for about an hour and at the end he asked me to sign a document written in Arabic which said I denied all the accusations. I signed the document.

 

Five days later I was taken to a military court. My parents were not told about the hearing and they did not attend. My detention was extended. I had three more hearings. At the last one I was given a six-month administrative detention order. My lawyer appealed and my administrative detention was reduced to four instead of six months. Still, I was sad because I had done nothing wrong.

 

I spent the prison term at Ofer. My parents did not visit me because the permit to visit takes months and months. I was allowed to call my parents from a telephone provided by the prison management twice a month. This changed after 7 October 2023. The phone calls stopped along with other privileges we had, like the TV, radio, hot plate and cleaning supplies. Quantities of food were cut down and I often went to bed hungry. They took away spoons and forks and plates and we ate using our hands. They brought in more detainees and took away the spare mattresses. Instead of six detainees in one cell we became 13. We did not have access to the outside world and the only news we received about the war came from new detainees. 

 

On the day of my release I was told I was taken for an interrogation. At around 4:00 p.m. I was taken to the office of the prison manager who told me I was going home in the prisoners exchange deal. Then I was taken for a meeting with the commander for my area. He told me he had pity on me and that was why he agreed to release me. He warned me against doing anything wrong once I am released and told me not to move around a lot. He also told me not to speak to journalists about my experience and not to celebrate my release at home. He threatened if I or my family organized a party, he was going to arrest me again. 

 

I was released on 26 November 2023. I was taken in a Red Cross vehicle to Al-Bireh municipality where my father was waiting for me. I was released at around 10:00 p.m. and I arrived home at around midnight. My family were informed of my release on the morning when I was released. I was happy to be home. I go to school, this is my final high school year.