Bilal Nasser, construction worker

I live with my mom and five sisters in Yatta and since my father died I support my family from working in Israel.

For more than two years, I have been entering Israel without a permit and working in Beer Sheva. I've filed two applications for a magnetic card in the past but they were rejected. Lately, I have been working on a construction site in Beer Sheva with other workers from Yatta – Bassem Hamadeh, 22 years old; Khalifa Abu Samra, 22 years old; Subhi Abu Fanus, 16 years old; Bassem Nassar, 22 years old; Nassar Nassar, 20 years old; Fadi Abu Zahra, 22 years old; and Ayman Abed Rabo, 18 years old. We used to sleep in a trailer next to the construction site.

On March 22, 2007 around 2:30A.M., I woke up to the sound of the trailer door opening. Two policemen came in with flashlights, woke us up, handcuffed us and took us out in pairs. They tied me to Khalifa Abu Samra and led us to the police car next to the trailer. The policemen drove us to the police station in Beer-Sheva. We arrived around 3:00 or 3:30A.M., and were taken into interrogation rooms one after the other.

A police officer in uniform interrogated me while I was sitting on a chair with my arms and legs handcuffed. The interrogator accused me of stealing a car, telephones and DVD players. He was speaking to me in Hebrew and I could not understand what he was saying. I tried explaining to him with hand signs that I could not understand what he was saying and he slapped and punched me in the head and the chest. He insisted that I answer him in Hebrew even though he knew a bit of Arabic. He held a fork and brought it close to my eye as if he would poke my eye out if I didn't confess to stealing and talk in Hebrew. I told him again that I could not understand what he was saying. The interrogation continued for half an hour. The interrogator then took me to the room where my friends were. Bassem, Khalifa, and Subhi were not there. I was told they were taken to the secret police station in Beer Sheva. I sat there with everyone.

At 5:00P.M., they drove us to the court house in Beer Sheva and told us that our detention had been extended until the following Sunday. We saw Bassem and Subhi at the court house. Bassem's face was swollen and he had blood all over his nose, next to his left eye, and in his teeth. Subhi didn't look too good either. Two of his fingernails were injured and there were signs of blood on his fingernails.

We stayed at the police station until approximately 11:00PM with our arms and legs handcuffed. We lay on the floor and tried to sleep but were not able to. We were then transferred to the jail in Netivot and put in a detention room. There were 4 of us in the same room and the other 3 in a different one. Subhi was not with us.

We were at Netivot for 21 days. During our time in Netivot, we were taken to the courthouse 6 times. On April 11, 2007, we were sentenced to 3 months and a day in prison and to a suspended sentence of 3 months, as well as a 5000 shekel fine for three years.

We were then transferred to a jail in the Negev where we stayed for 4 days. The prisoners there told me that Subhi had already been released.

After 4 days in the Negev , we were transferred to a prison in Ramle. Bassem did not come with us.

On April 19, 2007 we were transferred to a court house in Beer Sheva where our sentence was shortened by one-third. We were thus only detained for 47 days total and were released on May 7, 2007 and driven from the Ramle jail to Beit Sira checkpoint, from where we took a cab to get to Yatta.

In the Bee Sheva police station they took my Nokia cell phone and my ID card. When I was released, I received my ID card but not my phone.

Since my release I have not tried to enter Israel and I have not worked. My family's economic situation has worsened.

Bilal Mohammad Ibrahim Nassar, 21, is a construction worker and a resident of Yatta village in Hebron district. His testimony was given to Musa Abu Hashhash in Yatta on May 21, 2007.