Hamam 'Abd a-Latif, 16

Yesterday [3 May 2008], around 3:00 P.M., I was at home. Suddenly, I saw smoke rising from the lands that belong to our town. The lands are located in al-Barajneh, 200 meters south of the town and 200 meters from the houses of the new outpost that was built a few months ago on some other lands of ours.  I headed toward the field to help put out the fire. On the way, I met a friend, 'Issa Muhammad, who is my age. He too had seen the smoke and wanted to help fight the fire. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the site. There have been lots of times that settlers burned crops of people from our town, and we help each other in such cases.

When we got there, I saw about 20 settlers dressed in white and wearing small skullcaps. Some of them had beards and long side curls and four of them were armed. I also saw about 30 youths from the town standing about 20 meters from the settlers, throwing stones at them. Along with a few of them, I broke off some branches to use to put out the fire. We succeeded on our side, but we couldn't put out the fire on the other side because the settlers were close by. They fired a few shots in the air to frighten us.

About half an hour after we got there, five army jeeps pulled up and 25-30 soldiers got out. They fired a few shots in the air in and also some shots in our direction. We moved back. Then the soldiers pointed to several youths and asked them to step forward, but they ran away and some of the soldiers started chasing them. They didn't point to me. After the youths ran away, I was left alone because four of the soldiers had meanwhile surrounded me and I couldn't escape. They ordered me to sit down and I did. Then two soldiers joined the chase and the other two stood about four-eight meters from me. Suddenly, I saw four or five settlers coming toward me. One of them, who was unarmed, about 20 years old, wore glasses, and had long side curls, hit me in the forehead with a stone. I started bleeding heavily. I got up and shouted to the soldiers but one of them shouted at me to sit down. I did as he said. In the meantime, more settlers arrived, some of them armed, making a total of around 70 settlers.

The soldiers didn't do anything to the settler who attacked me. One of them brought over a kit and bandaged my forehead. Then another one told me to get up and go. They walked me, with two soldiers in front of me and two behind, until we got to a dirt road that passes by the settlers' houses. There was a Magen David [Israeli] ambulance there and inside were two paramedics, in their white uniforms. The paramedics spoke with the soldiers and returned to the ambulance. They didn't treat me. Then the soldiers drove me in an army jeep. Three soldiers sat in the back and one sat alongside the driver. One of the them, who spoke excellent Arabic, told me they would take me to the hospital.

I was afraid they would take me to Israel and arrest me. After driving for about five minutes, the jeep stopped and a blue police jeep pulled up alongside us. A policeman said something to me in Hebrew and I told him I didn't understand. Then he spoke with the soldiers and the soldier who spoke Arabic translated for me. The policeman asked me who set the fire, and I told him the settlers had done it. Then he asked me my name and who had hit me. He didn't write down what I told him. After he left, a Palestinian ambulance came and took me to Refidiyah Hospital. At the hospital, I was treated and X-rayed, and the doctor used four stitches to close the wound. Then they told me to go home.

Hamam Munir abd a-Rahim Darwish 'Abd a-Latif, 16, is a high school student and a resident of 'Asira al-Qibliya in Nablus District. His Testimony was given to Salma a-Deba'i at the witness's home on 4 May 2008.