Wissam a-Dik, Age 15
On Saturday, 11 September 2004, at around 8 PM, I went to an area named Hadikat Dar Hamed with my friends; Shadi Sakr, 17 years-old, Mahdi Mahmud, 20 years-old, and Odeh Fayez, 17 years-old. Hadikat Dar Hamed is a neighborhood located northwest of a-Dik village. It contains a small number of houses and a few olive groves. This neighborhood is parallel to the road leading to two settlements, 'Ele Zahav and Pedu'el. We wanted to sit together and talk. Normally the IDF and the settlers don't prevent the village residents from going to this area or bother them. We sat under one of the trees, at a distance of about fifty or sixty meters from the settlers' road on one side, and about thirty meters away from the first house in the village, on the other side.
About five minutes after we arrived, we saw four Israeli soldiers that probably came from the direction of the settlers' road. They came by surprise and we immediately started to run away. I heard one of them yell in Arabic 'Stop, stop or I'll shoot you.' He pointed his weapon in our direction. It was dark, so I couldn't identify the soldiers. I knew they were soldiers since I saw their uniforms and helmets. While I was running I heard bullets hitting the ground in front of me, which frightened me. I stopped running and one of the soldiers grabbed my shirt from the back then he pushed me and I fell on gravel and stones. The four soldiers started to beat me and kick my right leg with the handles of their rifles. I was nauseated and felt as if I was going to pass out. This lasted for about five minutes while they where laughing and yelling in Hebrew. I couldn't make out what they were saying. While this was taking place, I noticed that a few more soldiers had come to this area, probably to catch my friends.
When they stopped, one of the soldiers said to me in Hebrew: 'Go away. We will be back and if we see you we will kill you'. They left me and headed to the village. I tried to get up but I couldn't because my right leg was numb and I couldn't step on it. I crawled away from the area since I was scared that they would find and kill me, like they said they would. I crawled a few meters and hid behind a carob tree. I stayed there and didn't move so if the soldiers came back, they wouldn't notice my presence. The thought that there might be snakes and scorpions on the ground frightened me as well. So I stayed awake and tried to figure out what to do.
At around 10 PM, four soldiers came from the direction of the settlers' road to the area where I was hiding and conducted a search using flashlights. I knew what time it was since my watch has a small light. The soldiers were wearing black helmets and I think they where looking for me. I stayed put and didn't move. The branches of the tree that I was hiding under blocked my view of the soldiers. Luckily, they didn't point their flashlight in my direction. They continued looking for me and started to head in the direction of the village. After about five minutes, I heard jeeps heading in my direction and I figured that they are coming from the direction of Deir-Balut Street, I heard the sounds of walkie-talkies coming from the direction of the settlers' road and Deir Balut street.
Approximately half an hour after the soldiers with the flashlights passed by, I fell asleep. I was shaking from the cold and because I was frightened. I woke up in the morning to the call to prayer from the muezzin. I realized that I wet myself, probably from fear. When I woke up, the area was quite and I didn't hear jeeps or walkie-talkies, but it was dark and I was still scared to leave my shelter. I decided to stay there until it got light. At around 6 AM I tried unsuccessfully to crawl out of my shelter. I cried and after a while I regained my strength and stood up on my left leg and hopped toward my house. I didn't make it for more then two meters, when I fell on the stones and thorns on the ground. At that point I started to cry for help and I yelled out loud 'Help! Come and help me!'
At 6:15 or so, I saw a man walking down Deir Balut St. about 150 meters away from me. I called him, and he stopped. He looked in my direction but ignored me and kept walking. Maybe he was frightened as well. After ten minutes I spotted another man at about 250 meters from me. He was riding a donkey on an unpaved road south of Deir Balut. I called him and yelled, 'Hey you on the donkey, come pick me up.' I called him several times but he didn't pay attention or he didn't hear me, I don't know which, but he kept on going.
After a few minutes, at around 6:30 AM, I saw a man looking down from his house terrace that is located about 200 meters from me. I called for his help. He came over to me immediately and I saw it was Shaker Hamidan, who is 18 years old. He tried to pick me up, but couldn't. He told me that he would call my father. He left me there and came back in a private car with my father ten minutes later. My father lifted me on his back and put me in the car. We drove to Beit Rima and from there an ambulance took me to a-Sheikh Zaid hospital in Ramallah. My father accompanied me. In the hospital I was examined and x-rays were taken. It turned out that I had a fracture in my right knee. I was kept in the hospital, and five days later a cast was put on my whole leg. On Friday, 17 September 2004, I was released from the hospital, but I have to go back for treatments over the next month.
Wissam abd al-Hakim Issa a-Dik, 15 Year-old, single, high school student, is a resident of a-Dik in Salfit district. The testimony was taken by Iyad Hadad at the witness' house on 19 September ?2004