Sunday night was a horrible night for fourteen year old Hamza Fawzi Iweida. He was beaten, abducted, tied to a chair and insulted, after being asked for his identity card by Israeli men who did not identify themselves.
Hamza Fawzi Iweida’s small body did not protect him against the intense rage forced upon him by men in civilian clothes with a civilian car. He committed no crime, other than being a Palestinian boy from Jerusalem.
At nearly 4:00 am Sunday, Iwedia and his cousin were bringing food to his brother. In an interview with the Palestine News Network, he said, "We were on our way back to my house, we were just 200 meters away from the house when a white car skidded to a stop. Two men jumped out, one with black hair and the other blond. They demanded to see my identity card because I am under 16. At first I objected, but I was afraid of them so I gave them my school card and one of them pushed me onto the ground and began kicking and hitting me. My cousin tried to help me but he is even younger than I am, by three years. There was nothing he could do. I passed out during the beating."
The young boy continued, "After that six Israeli intelligence cars came and took me to the police station where they took of all of my clothes. They cut my stomach with a knife and then wrapped by neck with a small rope, suffocating me."
"Then they brought a paper where they wrote a report and wanted me to confess to something, asking why I did not immediately show those men my identity card. I didn’t even know who they were, if they were police, soldiers, or what."
His cousin, Ahmed Iweida says he remembers what happened as if it were a dream, "When they started beating Hamza, I thought they were thieves trying to steal his mobile phone. The blond man threw me on the ground and I lost consciousness for a few minutes. But thank god that at least my father came and quickly took me to the hospital. I have bruises all over my body. My left leg is the worst."
Hamza’s brother says that neighbors came to him to tell him that his little brother had not shown his identity card to some men, and that the men had beaten Hamza and taken him away. "I feared that what had happened was that the Israeli security had kidnapped him."
Mr. Fawzi expressed grave concern over his inability to protect his children. "I went and asked for him three times in the police station and they kept denying that he was there. Finally one of the officers admitted he was there and let me see him. When I saw him Hamza was in a small room with about 30 men from the Israeli intelligence. He was bound to a chair with blood dripping from him. I did not manage to talk to him because they then pushed me down the stairs. I did not want to be beaten — I already have a heart condition."
When the little boy was finally released, he went to the hospital. X-rays were taken that showed a great deal of internal bruising, and broken teeth.
All because he did not show two unidentified men his student ID card in the pre-dawn hours as he was bringing home an early breakfast. His father said, "How can Hamza have any dream of peace or a future when he is treated this way, a way that is so barbaric and inhumane?"
