Muhammad Hanani, victim, age18 , resident of Beit Furik, Nablus District
I live with my family in the village of Beit Furik, which is seven kilometers from Nablus. I am a senior in high school. One of my brothers is serving a 33 month sentence in an Israeli prison. Another brother, Bashar, 27, has been wanted by the Israeli army for the past two years. The Israeli army has come to our house about twenty times looking for him. They come in army jeeps and instruct us to leave the house because they want to search it. A few times the soldiers stayed in the house for more than three hours while we were standing outside waiting for them to finish.
On Saturday, September 6, 2003, at about 4 PM, I went out to buy some cigarettes at the grocery store. I saw an army jeep parked about fifteen meters from my house. There were four soldiers in the jeep. One of them, who was sitting next to the driver, said to me in Arabic: "Come over here, boy." I pretended not to hear him because I was afraid of the soldiers. He called me again and I came over. He asked me: "Who is throwing stones at the army vehicles in Beit Furik?" I told him I didn't know because I was at home and hadn't seen anything. I told him that my house is located at the entrance to the village and I have no idea what goes on in the center of the village. The soldier had an insigna with three stripes on his arm and I think he was the commander.
Two of the soldiers got out from the back of the jeep and started beating me. They slapped and kicked me. I think their shoes were black. I told them I am a high school student and that I don't know anything [about the incident]. The soldiers continued beating me and while they were doing so, I ran into my house. I was very frightened. I wanted my Mother to talk to them so they would stop beating me. Three of the soldiers chased after and yelled at me in Arabic: "Stop, stop."
I ran into the house. My father was on his way out, because he had heard the soldiers yelling. He caught me and told me to go with him to the soldiers, who had come into our yard. I went out to the yard with my father. One of the soldiers grabbed my neck and tried to throw me down, but I resisted and he wasn't able to. The other two jumped on me and the three of them knocked me down. They started kicking me while my father was standing next to me and watching it all. I saw him talk to them. I think he was trying to convince the commander not to take me away, but I didn't hear exactly what he said. Afterwards, two of the soldiers grabbed my clothes and dragged me to the gate. I caught hold of the iron gate and refused to go out. One of the soldiers butted my head with his helmet and then they took me out [of the yard] to the jeep.
Once we were outside the house, two of the soldiers and the commander kicked me and beat me with their hands and with the butts of the rifles. Afterwards, they threw me on the floor of the back of the jeep. The soldiers got into the jeep and we drove towards the Beit Furik army checkpoint. The checkpoint separates my village from Nablus, and is located about two kilometers outside the village.
The jeep stopped near an olive grove as we were on the way to the checkpoint,. The four soldiers got out of the jeep and took me out. They threw me on the ground. I was lying on my back and one of the soldiers placed a big stone under my head. I think it weighed more then 10 kilograms. Afterwards, he lifted another stone, and stood in front of me threatening to drop it on my head if I tried to move or stand up. The two other soldiers put stones around my body and on my stomach, my chest, my thighs and even my neck. They then kicked dirt on me. I felt as if I had thirty kilograms on top of me.
One of the soldiers cocked his gun and pointed it at my head. He said to me: "I will kill you. I'm going to kill you because the Arabs, your buddies in Nablus, killed my friend yesterday." He was referring to a soldier who was killed on September 5, 2003, in a battle with one of the members of the Hamas movement in Nablus. The soldier seemed sincere and I was certain he was about to kill me, but the commander stopped him from shooting. I saw the commander turn the barrel away from me and tell the soldiers something in Hebrew. I didn't understand what he said..
The soldier who picked up the big rock and was holding it over me the whole time, drew near and kicked the stones laying under my head and on my body. I heard the commander ask him :"Why did you do that?" and he told him to put the stone he had kicked back in place. The soldier did as instructed and then hit me on my left hip, above the stone. They left me under the stones and departed, on their way to the military checkpoint.
I took off the stones that were on top of me, got up and started walking in the direction of the village to go home. On my way, I looked back and saw the jeep standing next to the taxies waiting for passengers coming back from Nablus, at about 300 meters from the checkpoint.
One of the village residents, 'Abd al-Qader Malitat, came over to me in his car. He told me that he saw the soldiers beating me from his house. His house is about 200 meters from the place where I was beaten. He said that when he saw the soldiers leaving he came to find out what had happened to me. He than drove me home and left.
When I got home I was exhausted from the beating and the fear. About half an hour or more had passed since the soldiers took me. Two of the soldiers were particularly violent, but their commander restrained them. He caught them and kept them away from me. The fourth soldier, the driver, did not beat me, but he did put stones on me, together with the other three.
I can identify the four soldiers. They were all wearing army uniforms and had helmets on. They had a fair complexion and all looked about twenty years old. The soldier who threatened me with the rock had long eyelashes. I don't remember any special identifying characteristics. Based on their Hebrew it seemed to me that they are new immigrants.
Muhammad 'Abd a-Latif 'Aref Hanani is 18 years old. He is a high school student and a resident of Beit Furik, Nablus District. The testimony was taken by 'Ali Daraghma, at the witness' home, on 13 September, 2003.