Case Study: Majd, 14 years old

Name: Majd R. 

Age: 14

Location: Azzoun, east of Qalqilya 

Israeli forces physically assaulted and strangled Palestinian 14-year old Majd R. in the village of Azzoun east of Qalqilya while in Israeli custody during detention and interrogation. 

Majd R., 14, was detained by Israeli forces around 2:30 p.m. on April 29, 2024 in the Palestinian village of Azzoun, east of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. He was released the next day, unable to walk, after many hours of ill treatment, torture, and interrogation.

Majd and his friends were walking in the western neighborhood of Azzoun when two Israeli military vehicles approached them, the children cited feeling very afraid so they ran but the military vehicles chased them and “one of the military jeeps almost ran me over. I had to stop running, while my friends managed to escape and disappear” says Majd. 

“Around 10 soldiers exited the two military vehicles, pointing their guns at me and started physically assaulting me for 30 minutes." 

“I was screaming and crying in fear and pain. They cuffed my hands behind my back with a single plastic tie, and I was blindfolded, thrown inside a military vehicle.” Two soldiers assaulted him inside the vehicle for about 10 minutes. 

“One of them put his boot on my mouth while stomping on my chest with his other boot.”

The military vehicle stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint located at the northern entrance to Azzoun. Majd was taken out of the vehicle, forced to stand still and a soldier repeatedly assaulted him with the stock of his rifle on the chest, head, and waist while directing insults at him. 

“I was begging him to stop hitting me but to no avail. He then wrapped his hands around my neck, pressed with all his strength, and said to me in Arabic, “I’ll kill you by strangulation.” Majd passed out and regained consciousness around 5 p.m. and found himself in a room, lying on the ground and surrounded by a soldier, a cat, and a military dog”

 “I felt very scared, mostly because the sounds made by the dog were terrifying. I started screaming out of fear because the cat scratched my face many times,” Majd told DCIP. “The soldier said in Arabic, “I will let the dog eat you.”

Israeli forces continued torturing Majd until around 2 a.m, slamming his face against a wall several times, causing him to collapse and ask for water, but his request was rejected and they forced him to remain silent. 

Israeli forced transferred him to Emmanuel Police Station for interrogation at 3:30 a.m. where his tie and blindfold were removed. The interrogator accused him of throwing stones at Israeli military vehicles and then allegedly subjected the boy to physical violence for two hours, forced him to sign an electronic screen with an electronic pen, and tied his hands and blindfolded him again, according to documentation collected by DCIP. 

Israeli forces attempted to transfer Majd to Megiddo or Ofer prison around 7:30 a.m, but returned to the illegal Israeli settlement Ariel due to the overcrowded cells in both Megiddo and Ofer prisons. Israeli forces placed him in a yard under the scorching sun. 

“I was worn out as a result of being deprived of food, water, or access to the bathroom throughout my detention. A soldier poured water on me until my clothes soaked, after which he spat on me,” Majd said. 

Majd was released around 12:30 p.m. on April 30 at the intersection of Haris village, near Ariel settlement. He couldn’t move or stand and remained lying on the ground until a Palestinian vehicle pulled over and drove him to his village, then transferred him to Azzoun Hospital.

Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP) is a local, independent Palestinian human rights organization committed to securing a just and viable future for Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.