Btelesm / 29 May 2024

I’m married and live with my wife and our four kids, who are between the ages of six and 17. I work as a real estate lawyer and have a private office in Haifa.

On 4 November 2023, around 11:00 A.M., I was at my office when my brother called to tell me there were a lot of cops at our family’s home in Shfaram, looking for me. I called the police to ask why officers were looking for me and what they wanted, and they said they wanted me. I asked if I should come to them and they said no.

My world turned upside down [...] First, the guard demanded that I undress. I did and stayed in my underwear. He ordered me to take off my underwear as well. I tried to convince him that there was no need [...] I was 5 an Israeli citizen

After roughly half an hour, three people in civilian clothes came into my office and sat down. Up until that moment, I didn’t realize what was going on. They presented an arrest warrant. Because I’m a lawyer, they need a special permit from the State Attorney’s Office and the Israel Bar Association to arrest me, which they had already received. They tied my hands with zip ties and led me outside. They transferred me to my home in Shfaram, and that’s where the hard part began.

They led me into my home with my hands tied. My wife asked them to untie them so my young kids wouldn’t see me like that, but they refused. They asked if I had cash, and I replied that I had 10,000 shekels (~2,700 USD). They took documents and books from the house. After the raid on my home, they took me to the police station in Shfaram, where they put metal cuffs on my hands and feet. It was hard to walk. They put me in an interrogation room, where I found that the reason for my arrest was a Facebook post. I admitted to posting it. The investigator asked me about my cell phone, and I answered that they needed a permit to get it, but that I had nothing to hide. I gave him my phone and password.

Then they took me to Megiddo Prison, which I’ve called Abu Ghraib ever since, because of the severe torture I underwent there. They cursed me all the way to the prison. When we arrived, my world turned upside down. I felt like I was in a jungle. First, the guard demanded that I undress. I did and stayed in my underwear. He ordered me to take off my underwear as well. I tried to convince him that there was no need, and said I was 53 years old and an Israeli citizen. I thought that might help, but the guard threatened to beat me. I gave in, feeling I had no choice.

They put me, entirely naked, in a small cell without a door, like a fitting room in a clothes store. They brought in a hand-held metal detector and put it between my legs, claiming I was hiding something

They put me, entirely naked, in a small cell without a door, like a fitting room in a clothes store. They brought in a hand-held metal detector and put it between my legs, claiming I was hiding something. In the room the cell was in, five young Palestinians were searched, and the guards beat them, swore at them and humiliated them. The guards called me an ass. They knew I was a lawyer and wanted to humiliate me. But when I saw what they did to the young guys, I felt better off compared to them. The guards took away my clothes and gave me a white tank top, prison pants and plastic flip flops. They signaled for me to go through a passage that look like a cattle passage, which led to a room where an inmate card was prepared. On the way, the young guys were beaten and humiliated. When we reached the room, they forced the young guys to kiss an Israeli flag on the wall. Whoever refused was abused. One of the female guards even took a picture with one of the detainees as he kissed the flag. There was constant beating, cursing and humiliation. When it was my turn, the officer excused me and told the guards to skip me. I don’t know why, maybe because I’m a lawyer and an Israeli citizen. After I was photographed, they took me to cell 8 in wing 10, the security inmates’ wing. It was a small cell that was already holding seven detainees, with nearly nothing inside. Just iron beds, with no mattresses, pillows or blankets. There was a toilet with a small sink, and the door was broken. After me, they brought in two more detainees, so there were 10 of us in the cell. Everyone but me was from the West Bank: Nablus, Tulkarm and Jenin. For the first three days I was very frustrated. I hardly talked to anyone and didn’t eat at all. The food was truly awful and they gave us tiny amounts. We got one plate of rice a day for the whole cell. Just rice, some white cheese, and slices of bread and cucumber. We weren’t given any cutlery, so we had to eat with our hands. I felt disgusted, helpless, frustrated and humiliated. I didn’t understand how this was happening to me at my age, and it was very difficult to see the degradation of those around me. I couldn’t grasp it. We didn’t sleep at all the first night. There was a window in the cell, through which we heard detainees crying and shouting while guards beat them. The guards yelled out demands that they bark like dogs. We heard some of the detainees actually bark after they were hit. The guards laughed, of course. It was really hard to hear and see.

On the fourth day in detention, one of the detainees said to me: “Don’t let them defeat you, eat, you must stay strong and survive.” His words gave me strength, so I started eating. I was really shocked by those detainees, by their strength and faith. They were very conscientious about personal hygiene and keeping the cell clean, despite not really having the means to do so. They would purify themselves for prayer five times a day and made sure to clean everything despite the lack of toilet paper and soap. We rarely received soap, and then only in tiny quantities, although we asked again and again.

There was a special unit whose role was to beat detainees. People who were beaten sat for hours afterward, unable to speak

They cut us off from the outside world. They confiscated everything. There was nothing, no radio and no means of communication. Each time a new detainee arrived, everyone would ask him what happened. There was a special unit whose role was to beat detainees. People who were beaten sat for hours afterward, unable to speak. All this also generated considerable psychological stress, of course. There was constant yelling. At night they would bang on doors, several times each night, and turn on flashlights. And that was in addition to the beatings we heard.

They’d count us three to four times a day. They would raid the cell, 16 people armed with batons, and beat each of us without us having done anything. I constantly heard detainees shouting and the beatings and cursing from cells nearby. I felt that I was done for, fearing that I wouldn’t leave the prison alive, which lacked any humane values. I heard horror stories from the other detainees in my cell about what they went through. One had a broken leg that was bandaged in a plastic bag. His condition required daily care but he was only given a paracetamol pill from time to time. The other had an open wound on his forehead from a hard blow to his head. When I asked the guards to give them proper treatment, they’d yell at me that I don’t understand and that it’s none of my business. They told me that this is what happens to Hamas supporters.

On my fourth day there, they took us out for a break in the yard. I was surprised to find that everyone knew I was from within Israel and that I’m a lawyer. I heard many shocking stories. Everyone spoke of humiliation and beatings. It was really hard for me to digest everything I saw and heard. There were elderly detainees there, in their sixties. There were also many administrative detainees who were arrested at the start of the war due to their files from prior arrests.

By then I thought I’d seen all the horrors, but the guards seem to have noticed me sitting in the yard speaking to everyone, because the next day my circumstances changed. They transferred me to isolation cell number 4. There were cameras in the cell, and a window and door through which you could see what was happening outside. Next to me were cells 1 and 2 and I heard and saw cursing, humiliation and beatings from there. Even though I was in the cell alone, they would come to count me. I said, but I’m alone, but they just yelled at me.

I saw them severely beating another detainee[...] I understood that he was from Gaza and that he might be part of the Nukhbah. Four guards beat him [...] one of them told the female guard to leave because he wanted to pee on him

On my second day in solitary confinement, I saw them severely beating another detainee. Along with the guards beating him was a female guard shouting and swearing at him. Because of what they said, I understood that he was from Gaza and that he might be part of the Nukhbah. There were four guards who beat him and abused him. In the end, one of the guards told the female guard to leave because he wanted to pee on him, and then I heard him peeing and saying: “Drink, you son of a bitch.”

After two days in solitary confinement, they brought my friend, Ahmad Khalifah, who is also a lawyer, into the cell. He gave me a big hug and couldn’t believe he was seeing me there. He said he’d been in detention for 20 days and told me what he’d been through. He talked all night and apologized for not letting me sleep. I remember him saying he’d been in another wing of the same prison. Until then I thought I was the Israeli citizen being held in the worst conditions. But after he arrived, I felt that our suffering was identical. On the seventh day, they brought another lawyer, in his sixties, into the cell. He refused to eat and drink.

That same day, I had a hearing at the court in Acre and they took me there. The judge’s nails were painted with the pattern of the Israeli flag. She immediately extended my detention. I got angry and gave her the finger. When the guards saw that, they slapped me, kicked me and swore at me. They took me out of there with my hands and feet cuffed, pressing down on my head and back so I was hunched over like a dog. They returned me to Megiddo Prison and put me in a wing called Tora Bora. On the way, I saw guards beating detainees. There were three or four guards beating a detainee. I heard shouting and pleading, unbelievable things. They put me in a solitary confinement cell that was black and disgusting, full of cockroaches and other insects. It had no window or source of light, aside from a small opening in the door.

The next day, around 11:00 A.M., they put a young man in the isolation cell next to mine. He kept screaming in pain. I tried to speak to him through the door, asked him what his story was and told him to calm down. He said he was in pain and was going to die. He kept asking them to give him medical care and calling out to the medic and the guard. He knew them and called the guard by his name, Koftan, but no one answered. Once, a medic came and told him, “I already gave you six paracetamol pills, I have nothing more to give you.” I asked the young man what his name was and he didn’t tell me. He only said he was suffering and in a lot of pain. Every time a guard came I asked them to help him, but each time they just cursed at me, told me it was none of my business and ordered me to shut up. He continued to shout and beg for help until early morning, and then fell silent. During the count I heard them call out several times: “Mar’i, Mar’i.” He didn’t reply. I heard them open his door, and I peeked through the opening in my door. They went into the cell and started beating him, I heard the kicks landing on his body. Then I heard one of them asking to call for the doctor and get a first aid kit. The doctor arrived a few minutes later. They stayed in the cell for over an hour. Later, I heard one of them say in Arabic: “As long as you’re all healthy.” Everyone laughed and closed the door. I realized he was dead. After about an hour, they returned with a wheeled stretcher. They took the young man out, wrapped in a black bag, and left. Later on, I learned that his name was ‘Abd a-Rahman Mar’i, 23, and that he was a resident of Qarawat Bani Hassan and a father of four children. I still I can’t forget his voice and his pleas.

I said to the medic: “You killed him,” and he told me not to interfere. After 30 minutes, five guards came into my cell, raging like wild beasts, and said they would kill me

After a few hours, a medic brought me a pill for my diabetes. I told him the detainee who died had kept shouting and asking for treatment. The medic told me that Mar’i fell from the top bunk of the concrete bed in the cell. I said to him: “No, you killed him,” and he told me not to interfere. After 30 minutes, five guards came into my cell, raging like wild beasts, and said they would kill me. I felt a true threat to my life, and got the message that I shouldn’t speak of what happened to Mar’i.

The next day, on 13 November 2023, a guard came and told me I had a court hearing. He asked if I had any objection to attending by phone. I was in a really rough state of mind, so I agreed. The judge told me I was being released. I told him not to joke at my expense because I was in bad shape. He told me not to be afraid, and that I was being released. And that’s what happened.

The whole story was like a horror movie. I’m a lawyer and was living my life as usual. Suddenly, I found myself in the worst place in the world. It was a very difficult experience. Now, giving this testimony and recalling what happened there, I had trouble breathing several times. Throughout my detention, I lost seven to eight kilos in just 10 days. When I came home, my wife cried when she saw me and my children were afraid of me, because I hadn’t shaved the whole time and my hair was wild. I looked like a different person. When I was released, my clothes weren’t given back to me, and I only got my phone back three months later.

It was a horrific experience .

* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Deb’i on 29 May 2024