Adham Samamrah, laborer

On 26 July 2007, at about 10:30 in the morning, I was working in the yard of my family's tile factory, which is situated about 1.5 kilometers from a-Dhahiriyah. I was filling a wagon with gravel to take into the factory, while my brothers were working inside the factory next to the machines that make tiles.

I saw a yellow minibus driving south from the direction of a-Dhahiriyah. It stopped. I thought it was customers who were interested in buying tiles, or someone who wanted to ask something. I put down the rake and walked a few steps toward them. Then I stopped and decided to wait until they got out, so I could get an idea of they wanted. I was about 10-15 meters from the vehicle when suddenly, the person sitting next to the driver put an M-16 out the window and aimed it at me. I turned around to run away. He fired and the bullet hit me in the lower part of my left shoulder. The bullet came out through my chest, just under my neck. I fell face down and lost consciousness.

I woke up at the a-Dhahiriyah emergency center. They didn't have an ambulance that could take me to hospital in Hebron , and while I waited, they treated me. Three of my brothers were with me. They decided to take me to Soroka Hospital , in Israel . They asked Muhammad Sharif Matir, who is from a-Dhahiriyah, to take me to the a-Ramadin checkpoint, from where I would continue on to Soroka. I was conscious by now. At the checkpoint, my brothers set me down on the ground. The soldiers did not let us cross because they didn't believe us, and they made us wait about 45 minutes before letting us pass.

A Magen David Adom ambulance came to the checkpoint and took me to Soroka Hospital , where I remained hospitalized for one week. I am still bed-ridden and have pains in my chest, midsection, and shoulder.

Later, I was told that the person who shot me was an Israeli soldier. I remember what he looked like. He had a white shirt and his hair was spiked with gel. My brothers said that the same soldier shot at them too when they chased after the vehicle, and that one shot had hit the wheel of the forklift. The owner of the minibus told me that the soldiers had seized the vehicle, tied his hands, blindfolded him, and held him until after the soldier shot me.

I still don't understand why he shot me. I just don't understand. I've never been in jail and there is no security file on me or anyone else in my family. Since the incident, I've been having nightmares and can't fall asleep. I don't know when I'll fully recuperate from the wound.

Adham Nathimi ‘Ali Samamrah, 18, is a laborer and a resident of a-Dhahiriyah, Hebron District. The testimony was given to Musa Abu Hashhash at the witness’s home on 21 August 2007.