Palestinian child Thayer Hamayel, 12 years old, revealed horrific details of his arrest journey that began at dawn on April 14th. The child stated in his testimony that the occupation forces took him from his home, initiating a series of forced transfers and harsh interrogations that reflected a tragic reality experienced by children inside Israeli detention centers.
Thayer's suffering began in the 'Al-Asour' camp near his town, where he was left alone in the open, facing severe cold for a full hour without any consideration for his age. Following that, he was transferred to 'Jaba'it' camp, located northeast of Ramallah, where he was thrown into a very narrow room with another prisoner for several hours under conditions lacking the most basic human necessities.
Sources reported that the child was subjected to serious physical and psychological abuses during his interrogation at the 'Binyamin' interrogation center, including severe beatings and attempts at strangulation. Thayer stated that the interrogators accused him of belonging to armed organizations and described him as a 'saboteur,' while keeping his hands bound with painful restraints throughout the interrogation to increase pressure on him.
After the interrogation, Hamayel was transferred to 'Ofer' prison west of Ramallah, where the policy of abuse and ill-treatment continued during the transfer process. The child indicated that the prison administration exerted humiliating psychological pressure on him, reaching the point of forcing him to kiss the Israeli occupation flag under threat, in a blatant violation of international child rights conventions.
Thayer described the daily life in the 'Cubs Section' of Ofer prison as characterized by deliberate cruelty, especially regarding the quality of food and the rough treatment by the jailers. He explained that the administration follows daily punitive measures that include removing mattresses from young detainees from early morning until afternoon, forcing them to sit on the hard floor throughout that period.
This testimony comes at a time when field data indicates an escalation in the repression against Palestinian prisoners, whose number is approximately 9600. Among these detainees, 350 children and 86 women are held in conditions described by human rights organizations as a vengeful journey lacking adequate food, medicine, and blankets, especially in light of the current situation.
According to reports from prisoner affairs institutions, the number of administrative detainees has reached record levels, totaling 3532 people, which is the highest historically. The presence of 1251 detainees under the designation of 'unlawful combatants' was also recorded, a number that does not include all detainees from the Gaza Strip who are held in secret camps belonging to the occupation army, away from legal oversight.
I was beaten and choked during the interrogation, and harsh accusations were leveled against me while my hands were tied the entire time.
شارك برأيك
Shocking Testimony of a Palestinian Child: Beating, Choking, and Forced to Kiss the Occupation Flag