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‘Abd al-Majid Khatib, 19, from the Tel Rumeidah neighborhood in central Hebron, attacked by soldiers on 10 June 2024

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‘Abd al-Majid Khatib, 19, from the Tel Rumeidah neighborhood in central Hebron, attacked by soldiers on 10 June 2024

I live with my parents and my three brothers, Muhammad, 17, Qusai, 16, and Mustafa, 14. On 10 June 2024, while I was sitting at home with the family, we heard loud knocking on the door. I opened it, and about six soldiers came in. They spread out in the house, acting aggressively and violently. One of them forcefully me hard against the wall and started frisking me, while kicking my legs and yelling and swearing at me. He ordered me to unlock my phone and hand it to him. I saw him go into one of my WhatsApp groups and scroll through it. As soon as he finished, without saying a word, the other soldiers started violently leading me to the road while slapping and kicking me. When we got to the road, they handcuffed and blindfolded me. After about 15 minutes, they let me go and I went straight to my grandmother, who lives in the same neighborhood. Shortly after I arrived at her house, I heard knocking on the door again. Three of the six soldiers who were at my parents’ house earlier were standing there. They handcuffed and blindfolded me again, and this time, they led me to the Gilbert checkpoint.

A masked soldier came into the room and spoke to me in fluent Arabic [...] He threatened that the next time they found news about Hamas on my phone, they wouldn’t take mercy on me.

When we got there, they took me into an observation room and started hitting me all over my body with the butts and barrels of their rifles, and swearing at me. One of the soldiers held a cigarette he was smoking close to my neck, and I got burned. Another soldier cursed my mother and sisters. I shouted at him in response, and he slapped me, ordered me to shut up and told me to call my mother a “slut” and to curse Hamas and Sinwar. I obeyed because I was afraid of what they would do to me. 

All that lasted about an hour, until a masked soldier came into the room and spoke to me in fluent Arabic. He cursed me for following updates on what was happening in Gaza, and then untied my hands, took off my blindfold and told me to get lost. He threatened that the next time they found news about Hamas on my phone, they wouldn’t take mercy on me. It’s been two days. My back and legs still hurt, and I still have a burn on my neck.

Marks left by the abuse on 'Abd al-Majid Khatib's body. Photos courtesy of Khatib

* Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari on 12 July 2024.

Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
B’Tselem calls on the Israeli public and the international community to use every tool available under international law to bring an immediate end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.