Walid was first arrested when he was thirteen years old and then again when he was eighteen. Walid lives in the village of Nabi Saleh, which is known for excessive child arrests. Upon his release, the YMCA office in Ramallah conducted an intervention with Walid for four months. On his first arresting experience, Walid was accused of throwing stones and soldiers took him from home handcuffed and blindfolded. He was held for two days, but had no food or water and was kept on the ground the entire time while soldiers kicked, harassed and cursed him. When he was released, the guards told Walid that one day he will be imprisoned again. This kept Walid constantly afraid of going through the same traumatic experience again.

After his release following a two-year imprisonment, Mohammed was contacted by the YMCA Rehabilitation Program counselors. He was having great difficulty in re-adjusting at home due to his traumatic imprisonment experience. Mohammad was only seventeen when soldiers broke into his house to arrest him. For fifteen months, Mohammad continually went to court only to have his trial delayed. Eventually they sentenced him to an additional 10-month imprisonment. Mohammad says: “Everything in prison is difficult. Every experience you have in prison is so difficult.”

Mohammed was first arrested at the age of sixteen and a couple of times again within the following two years. The Israeli forces came to his home to arrest him twice, destroying the house and harassing his family.

At the age of fifteen, and accused of an attempted stabbing, Fatima was arrested from Zatara checkpoint and detained for about two weeks. She was brutally treated by the officers who arrested her; they screamed at her, handcuffed and blindfolded her, and then put their legs on her back while she was being transferred in the military jeep.

At the age of 13, Isma’il along with a group of other young men were arrested from the local barber shop by the Israeli military. They were accused of being involved in an outbreak with soldiers. They were kept in a dark container for eight hours; blindfolded, handcuffed and unable to eat, drink or go to the toilet. They were interrogated, beaten and tormented.