On 3 February 2021, a 17-year-old minor from Sabastiya was arrested by Israeli soldiers from home at 3:00 a.m. and accused of throwing pipe bombs. He reports consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation but not being informed of his right to silence by the interrogator. He was sentenced to 1 year in prison and fined NIS 1,500. He also received a suspended sentence. 

About two weeks before I was arrested, my father received a phone call from an Israeli military officer asking him to bring me and my brother to the police station for questioning. My father refused to comply and told the officer last time they summoned us we ended up in prison and told him if he wanted to arrest us he should arrest us from home. 

 

About two weeks later, soldiers blew off our front door at around 3:00 a.m. I woke up to the sound of the explosion. Shortly afterwards three soldiers came into my bedroom. One of them mentioned my name and then told me to get ready because I was under arrest. He gave my father a document with some details scribbled in Hebrew and asked him to sign it and he did. The soldier ticked the box indicating they were taking me to Ariel police station when in fact they took me to Huwwara military base and then to Salem interrogation centre. They remained inside our home for less than 10 minutes.

 

One of the soldiers then tied my hands to the front with one plastic tie and tightened it hard. I was in pain and the tie left marks on my wrists for a long time. Another soldier blindfolded me and made me wait outside the house while they arrested my twin brother.

 

Then they took me to the back of a military jeep that was waiting outside and made me sit on the metal floor between the soldiers’ legs. Then they drove to the nearby settlement of Shave Shomron where I was given a quick medical test. Then I was taken to Huwwara military base; I arrived there at around 4:30 a.m. 

 

On arrival at Huwwara I was strip searched and then I was taken to a cell where I spent 16 days together with my brother. On the second day I had a military court hearing by video. My mother and brother attended and my detention was extended. On the fifth day I was taken to Salem for interrogation; I arrived there at around noon.

 

Before the interrogator started to question me, he told me I had the right to consult with a lawyer. Then he phoned a lawyer for me and allowed me to speak to him and left the room. The lawyer told me I had the right to remain silent and told me not to worry. The conversation was about two minutes long.

 

Then, without informing me of my right to silence, the interrogator accused me of throwing stones and pipe bombs and paint and fire crackers at soldiers in the village. He gave me specific dates for the incidents. I denied the accusations. Then he told me three young men from the village had confessed against me. I continued to deny the accusation. He questioned me for a little more than an hour and was calm and did not threaten me with anything. At the end he asked me to sign a document written in Arabic. I read it and when I found it was identical to what I had said I signed it. 

 

After the interrogation I was taken to Huwwara military base where I was strip searched before being taken to a cell with my brother. We remained in the cell for 16 days. During this time, I had four more court hearings. After 16 days I was transferred to Megiddo prison, inside Israel, where I was was quarantined with other boys for 12 days. Then I was taken into the minors’ section.

 

My last court hearing was on 25 May 2021. During this session I was sentenced in a plea bargain to 12 months in prison and fined NIS 1,500. I also received a suspended sentence of eight months suspended for three years. I accepted the plea bargain because my lawyer told me it was the best deal I was going to get.

 

When I turned 18 I was transferred to the adults’ section at Megiddo and then I was transferred to two other prisons inside Israel; Remon and The Negev. While in prison my family visited me four times.  I attended classes in Arabic, Hebrew and Mathematics and I cooked and helped in the kitchen.

 

I was released at Al Thahiriya checkpoint on 6 January 2022 and I went home with my parents and my brother. We arrived home at around 11:00 p.m.