Israeli soldiers came into my bedroom at around 3:00 a.m. and woke me up. They entered our home from the roof and the front door. At first I saw a torch light in my room and then I realised it was soldiers. A masked soldier asked me for my ID card and wanted to know my name. I was terrified and told him my ID card was upstairs. The soldiers then aimed their guns at me and told me to go upstairs with them to get my card. My father was in Jordan and wasn’t home that night.

 

The soldiers then searched me and told me to take off my clothes. They searched me in my underwear and asked me to crouch up and down. They also searched our house. Then they told me I was under arrest. They did not tell me why and did not give my mother any written documents. The commander approached me and told me it was in my interests to hand over my weapons. I told him I didn’t have any weapons. The soldiers continued to search our house but they didn’t find anything other than a toy water pistol.

 

I was then taken outside where they blindfolded me and tied my hands behind my back with one plastic tie which was not tight. They also shackled my legs and took me to the back of a jeep and made me sit on the metal floor. The jeep immediately drove for about 15 minutes to Salem military base where I was put in a shipping container and made to sit on the floor. I tried to sleep but a soldier who was in the container prevented me from sleeping. The soldier kicked me and shouted every time I started to fall asleep. I was not given any food.

 

About two hours later the commander came asked me about the weapons again. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about. 

 

At around 9:00 a.m. soldiers took me back to a jeep which drove for about two hours to Huwwara military base near Nablus. At Huwwara I was strip searched and taken to a cell with other boys. The soldiers removed the tie and the blindfold and I remained at Huwwara for two days. Two days later soldiers handcuffed me to the front and shackled my legs and took me to the back of a jeep where I sat on a seat. The jeep drove for about two hours back to Salem where I was taken to the military court. My parents and my lawyer were in court. The hearing was adjourned.

 

At around 4:00 p.m., I was put in a troop carrier where I sat on a seat and the carrier drove for about 30 minutes to Al Jalame interrogation centre, in Israel, where I was taken to a small cell measuring no more than 2 x 2 meters. It was marked Cell Number 16 and had a bed. The handcuffs and shackles were removed and I spent 14 days alone in this cell. The cell had no windows and a dim red light was left on 24 hours. I had no idea what time it was. There was no toilet and I had to bang the door each time I needed to use the toilet.

 

The following morning, at around 9:00 a.m., I was handcuffed and shackled and taken for interrogation. The interrogator did not inform me of any rights. He started to swear at me saying things like 'fuck your mother' and 'fuck your sister'. Then he asked me for the weapon. I told him I didn’t have any weapons. Then he told me there were four confessions against me by four people who claimed I owned weapons. I asked him to confront me with them but he never did. The interrogation lasted for about two hours. After two hours I was then taken back to the small cell where the handcuffs and the shackles were removed.

 

I was interrogated the same way in the following days and accused of weapons possession. I continued to deny the accusation. In the end the interrogator printed out my statement in Hebrew and asked me to sign it but I refused. Then he took my photograph and my fingerprints.

 

After my interrogation was over I was then transferred to Hasharon prison, inside Israel where I remained for two days in the juvenile section. I had three more military court hearings and I was told I was going to be held in administrative detention. I objected and told my lawyer I was worried they might keep extending my detention and told him I was willing to confess. The military judge then told me I was going to be taken back to Salem for further interrogation.

 

At Salem I wasn’t informed of my rights. The interrogator accused me of weapon possession and of incitement on Facebook and showed me a Facebook profile. I told him it wasn’t my Facebook account and that I did not incite anyone. Then I confessed to possessing a locally handmade pistol that I had handed it over to the Palestinian Authority in Jenin. The interrogator then printed out my statement in Hebrew and told me it was identical to what I had told him and asked me to sign it and I did.

 

After the interrogation I was taken back to the military court where the judge told me I was going to be held in administrative detention for 21 days until a charge sheet could be presented. I was then taken to the juvenile section at Megiddo prison, inside Israel.

 

In the end I was sentenced to seven months in prison in a plea bargain where I confessed to inciting on Facebook. I was also given a suspended sentence of 10 months valid for 18 months. The weapon possession allegation against me was dropped because the weapon was handed over to the Palestinian Authority. On 7 June 2016, I turned 18 and I was transferred to the adults section. Then I was transferred to the Negev prison also inside Israel.

 

I was released on 7 September 2016, at Taqumiya checkpoint in the south. In prison I studied Arabic and Mathematics.