Maher Shaqarneh, construction worker

Until about a year and a half ago, I worked in construction inside Israel . When Israel blocked all the entry points, I became unemployed and was unable to provide a living for my family. I tried to find work at any cost. At the end of March, a friend told me there was work in El'ad, but that I would have to sneak into Israel and sleep at the worksite.

Last Saturday [1 April], I left my village, Nahhalin, with eight other men. We went to Deir Ballut, which is in the Ramallah area, from where we could sneak into Israel and get to El'ad. We reached Deir Ballut about 6:00 in the evening. We bought some food in the village and around 6:30 left and went through the farmland west of the village. On the way, we met somebody who warned us that there were soldiers in the area of the fence. We continued until we got to about 600-700 meters from where we planned to cross. It is a tangled area, with a barbed-wire fence. We sat between the trees, looked over the area, and planned what to do next. At 7:30, when we were sure that no patrols were in the area, we started to walk toward the fence.

We got to a barbed-wire fence that had a small opening. One of my friends, Maher Musa Hassan, went through first, and we followed one after the other. There was a paved road on the other side that was intended for army use. On the other side of the road was a trench about four meters deep. On the other side of the trench was another barbed-wire fence, higher and more tangled. I went into the trench and fell into a rainwater drainage hole. I fell hard onto my hand and shouted out in pain, then intense gunfire broke out at me and the others. I lay there where I had fallen down. The others came over to me because the area was protected relatively well from the gunfire. The shooting continued for a few minutes, and I saw one of the men with me run back and forth, looking for a hole to flee through, but he couldn't find one. Another one of us, Nasser , stood up in the middle of the trench and shouted, "We are workers," and I heard a voice reply, in Hebrew, "We know that."

I saw Nasser fall to the ground. After he fell, some soldiers came closer to us. They were standing on the road above us. They had rifles with a light attached. One of the soldiers descended into the trench and asked if there were wounded. Khaled, who was next to Nasser and tried to hide from the gunfire told him there were. Nasser cried out in pain. The soldier went over to Nasser and checked his wound. He treated him while another soldier shined his light on Nasser . Khaled helped the soldiers and held Nasser so he would lie there properly.

My friends took me out of the hole that I had fallen into. One of the soldiers took our ID cards. I think that at first there were three soldiers. After about 20-30 minutes had passed, two army jeeps pulled up and some soldiers got out. They stood on the road and looked at us.

Then another army vehicle arrived. I think it was an army ambulance. Some soldiers went over to where Nasser was. They moved Khaled to the side and gave Nasser first-aid. I think they gave him oxygen. One of the soldiers asked me if I had been shot. I told him that I hadn't been hit. He covered me with a blanket to protect me from the cold.

After a long time passed, I don't recall how much, a civilian ambulance arrived, and I saw the soldiers put Nasser on a stretcher and carry him. Then they put me on a stretcher. Some soldiers picked me up and put me into the army ambulance. It did not have any medical equipment. Nasser was put in the civilian ambulance. I think it was after 10:00 when the ambulance I was in started to move. After driving for about 15-20 minutes, we stopped. The soldiers removed my friends, and I remained inside, lying on the stretcher.

After a long time passed, I don't recall how much, a civilian ambulance arrived, and I saw the soldiers put Nasser on a stretcher and carry him. Then they put me on a stretcher. Some soldiers picked me up and put me into the army ambulance. It did not have any medical equipment. Nasser was put in the civilian ambulance. I think it was after 10:00 when the ambulance I was in started to move. After driving for about 15-20 minutes, we stopped. The soldiers removed my friends, and I remained inside, lying on the stretcher.

Maher Muhammad 'Abd al-Hamid Shaqarneh, 34, married with eight children is a construction worker and a resident of Nahhalin, Bethlehem District. His testimony was given to Kareem Jubran at the witness's home on 7 April 2006.