My father woke me up at around 3:30 a.m. He was with an Israeli military commander standing over my head. Although I was expecting this because my name appeared in a charge sheet of another boy, I was still shocked to see an Israeli soldier in my bedroom. 

 

Three other soldiers were in our home. They did not conduct a search and within a very short time one of the soldiers tied me hands to the back with three plastic ties: one on each wrist and another connecting the two. The ties were tight and painful. Then he blindfolded me and took me on foot to where a military jeep was waiting. The soldiers did not give my family any documents.

 

Inside the jeep I sat on the metal floor between the soldiers’ feet. When the blindfold fell off the soldiers slapped, kicked and swore at me. I was taken to a nearby military base where I was left outside in the sun from around 4:00 a.m. until around 5:00 p.m. I was not given any food or drink. Then I was taken to the police station in Etzion settlement. As soon as I arrived at Etzion the soldiers drove me to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, where I was strip searched before being taken to section 13. 

 

The following day I was taken for interrogation. At first, I waited from the early morning until around 6:00 p.m. I was tied and shackled but not blindfolded. Then at around 6:00 p.m. I was taken into an interrogation room.

 

The interrogator was not wearing a uniform. He started by asking me some general questions and he typed my answers on his computer. He did not allow me to speak to a lawyer except when the interrogation was over. He questioned me without informing me of my right to silence. 

 

He said I knew the boys who were convicted of firing gunshots. I told him one of the boys was my cousin and the other was his friend. I denied having been involved in the shooting incident. Then he told me the other two boys had confessed against me and had told him I was with them when they fired the gun. I denied the accusation. The interrogator became angry and aggressive. He spat at me and thumped the table aggressively. 

 

The interrogator questioned me for about an hour. When it was over he phoned a lawyer and I spoke to him. The lawyer told me not to confess and told me to say no to everything. We spoke for about a minute and the interrogator was listening on speaker phone. Then the interrogator asked me to sign a document written in Hebrew. I don’t remember if it was also written in Arabic. I signed without reading. After the interrogation I was taken back to prison.

 

The following day I was taken to Ofer military court. My mother and uncle attended and my detention was extended. I had three military court hearings. The next hearing was supposed to be on 16 October 2023, but it was cancelled because of the events of 7 October. I did not have any more court hearings and I was released in the prisoners’ exchange deal with Hamas.

 

After 7 October 2023, conditions inside the prison worsened. The prison guards raided our cells and took away all the appliances and the extra mattresses and pillows. They even took our food which we ourselves had bought in the prison shop.  They removed the window panels and did not install them even when the weather became cold. They took away our spare clothes and we were left with only the clothes we were wearing on the day of the raid. 

 

After 7 October family visits were suspended and they did not allow us to make phone calls to our families as was the situation before. In the days immediately following 7 October they cut off the power most of the day and cut off the hot water. They also closed the prison shop and took away our shaving blades. Food was not enough for the 12 inmates. The cells became overcrowded and our numbers in each cell doubled from six to 12; six of us had to sleep on the floor. 

 

On the day of my release I was told I had an interrogation. After waiting a long time, I met with the area commander who told me I was going home in the Hamas deal. He then warned me against celebrating my release at home. He told me I was not allowed to raise flags of any faction and I was not allowed to take part in protests against the war in Gaza. He also told me I was not allowed to leave home. 

 

I was released on 26 November 2023. The Red Cross cars dropped us off in the centre of Ramallah and my parents and siblings met me there. I arrived home at around 1:00 a.m. I am scared of leaving home for fear that I might be arrested again. I know of four boys who were released with me who have since been arrested again. They stopped them at checkpoints and arrested them for no reason. I spend my time studying for my high school exams; I am hoping to get good grades.