Testimony: “Israeli” soldiers brutally beat Muhammad Idis near Tuwani Village

Mohammad Id'is, who lives in Beit ‘Amra- next to Yatta in Al Khalil (Hebron) District- has been transporting workers from the communities nearby to their work sites in the occupied land.

His job which helps him put food on the table is risky, since some of his clients do not have permits to enter into "Israel" and therefore sneak through the fence where then Bedouin drivers from the Beersheva area take them to where they work.

On the 6th of September, around 4:30 A.M., Mohammad collects his 5 clients and as usual drives along the bypass road. On this day, Mohammad and the passengers decide to perform morning prayers at the Tuwani Mosque before they head to work.
Following the prayers Mohammad and the passengers headed back to the car, when suddenly an army hammer jeep pulled up.

"Four soldiers got out, one of them an officer." Mohammad said. "The officer appeared very agitated. He came over to my car, opened my door and forcibly pulled me out by the neck. I fell to the ground. He grabbed my right arm, stepped on my neck and cuffed my hands behind my back." He continued

Mohammad said at first the officer didn't speak to him. He asked another soldier to pick him up. The officer told Mohammad to hand in his identity card.

"The soldier grabbed my arms from behind with force. He put his knee against my back and said: I killed four Gazans and you'll be the fifth."

Then began a couple-hours journey of brutality and abuse before Mohammad received any help or medical aid.

Mohammad said: "Before I answered or said anything, he gave me three hard, quick blows to the stomach with his rifle. The soldier kneed me in the back from behind. I fell to the ground, face down. I don't remember what happened after that."

Mohammad was forced into the car where the soldiers took him to a checkpoint and again was subjected to harsh hitting and abuse.

"The two soldiers helped me get to the checkpoint. I wasn't able to walk and fell to the ground. The two soldiers kicked me in the stomach and back. I cried out and said to one of them: Bastard, why are you beating me?
The soldiers got real upset. They continued to kick me in the back and stomach for about ten minutes. I shouted loudly and asked them to stop. While I was lying there on the ground, the officer and the first soldier took pictures of me on their mobile phones."

Not only the "Israeli" soldiers assaulted Mohammad but also enjoyed taking pictures of him as he lied in pain on the ground and whilst they were hitting him.

Mohammad added "The two soldiers stopped kicking me after a female soldier at the checkpoint intervened. I was lying on the ground, crying out in pain and asking for first-aid. The officer ignored me."

Then after quite some time a Red Crescent ambulance crew arrived. Two members of the crew came into the tower. They brought a stretcher, put me on it, and took me to the ambulance as the officer and soldiers refused to help them."

According to Mohammad, which is only one of tens of hundreds subjected to such brutality and hawkish actions of "Israeli" soldiers, the doctors said they would open his abdomen to make sure he had no internal bleeding or injury to internal organs, especially his spleen.

The X-rays, tests, and operation indicated that Mohammad had damage to his intestines and other internal organs.

Mohammad Mahmud Id'is Id'is, 27, married with two children, is a driver and a resident of Beit 'Amra in Al Khalil (Hebron) District.

Mohammad's testimony was given to Musa Abu Hashhash at Aliyah Hospital, in Al Khalil (Hebron), on 7 September 2009.