Khaled Ahmad, worker

 I work in Israel without a permit, like many young men from the village. I manage to cross the border into Israel because there is no fence between Israel and ‘Azzun ‘Atmah. I work at construction to support my family. I didn't study a profession, so I have trouble finding work in the West Bank. During the Passover holiday, I transported laborers to earn money.

Last Saturday [10 May 2008], around 6:30 P.M., I was standing next to my car about 50 meters from the ‘Azzun ‘Atmah checkpoint, waiting for it to fill up with passengers to Qalqiliya. Two soldiers approached me from the direction of the checkpoint. I heard other soldiers call one of them “Simon.” He was light-skinned, short, and fat, had a beard, and wore a helmet. The other soldier, who had a dark-brown complexion, was tall and thin. He, too, wore a helmet, and he had a short beard.  Both were about 20 years old.

The light-skinned soldier told me, in Hebrew, “Come with me to the room by the checkpoint.”  I asked: “Why do I have to go with you to the room?”, and he said, ““To break your head.” I asked him, “What did I do?”  Instead of answering, he asked, “How are you connected to Khaled Abu al-Khir, and who asked you to interfere and call an ambulance?” A few days before, on 7 May, I was at the checkpoint when soldiers beat al-Khir, and he had needed medical help.

I said that it was my obligation as a human being. Then I asked the soldier, “Why did you [in the plural] assault him?” “I don't take orders from you,” he replied, aggressively.

The conversation went on for about five minutes, and then the two soldiers dragged me to the checkpoint, beating me and swearing at me on the way. When we got there, the light-skinned soldier ordered me to go into a small room. I realized they wanted to beat me. They had already beat a few men in recent weeks, the last victim being al-Khir.

I refused to go into the room. The light-skinned soldier hit me all over my body with his hand. I grabbed hold of some metal bars fixed to the checkpoint. The other soldier hit me in the hands and stomach. While the light-skinned soldier tried to pull me, three soldiers came and beat me. They all tried to force me to go into the room. The light-skinned soldier hit me in the head with his rifle butt. They also tried to cuff me with metal handcuffs.

In the meantime, my father arrived with two men from the village. They spoke with the soldiers and tried to get them to release me.  The light-skinned soldier told my father they would kill me in front of him, and that he would kill everybody who doesn't submit to the Israeli army. They continued beating me for about fifteen minutes, until I collapsed and fainted.

Later on, my father told me that the soldiers at the checkpoint delayed the ambulance that came to take me to hospital for ten minutes.  I was taken to hospital in Qalqiliya, where I received first aid for about half an hour and was then taken by ambulance to Refidiyah Hospital, in Nablus. I woke up on the way to Nablus and I saw my brother Tha'ir sitting beside me. Then I lost consciousness again. The next time I woke up, it was already midnight. I was in the hospital, and Tha'ir was alongside me. There were marks on my body that showed I had been beaten.

The next day [11.5.2008], around 3:00 P.M., I was discharged. My family drove me to my sister's house in Beit Amin, which is next to ‘Azzun ‘Atmah, because I didn't want to cross the checkpoint and encounter the soldiers again. I was afraid they would assault me again.

Khaled 'Abd a-Rahim Fares Ahmad, 31, married with three children, is a laborer and a resident of 'Azzun 'Atmah in Qalqiliya District. His testimony was given to Ra'aed Moqdi in Beit Amin Village, Qalqiliya District, on 14 May 2008.